The Ebola outbreak in Congo has claimed over 2,000 lives, with the death toll rising almost three times faster than in the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africa. The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has contributed to a delay in confirming the outbreak due to lab tests being performed for the more common type instead.

Challenges in Containment

Health teams face numerous challenges in containing the outbreak, including strikes by unpaid health workers, threats from rebel groups, and misinformation asserting that Ebola isn’t real. The outbreak is unfolding in some of the most challenging conditions imaginable, with a vast population of displaced people struggling to find reliable water sources for washing hands.

Five provinces in eastern Congo are affected, near neighboring South Sudan, Uganda, and Rwanda, with fears about the potential spread to larger cities in the region. The World Health Organization has warned that it could take months and possibly as many as 1,000 study participants to determine if two possible Ebola treatments are effective.

Researchers have begun a study of two possible Ebola treatments, enrolling local participants at an Ebola treatment center in Ituri province. The treatments include Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir and Mapp Biopharmaceutical’s experimental MBP134, which have shown hints in lab tests that they may help fight the Bundibugyo virus.

Original reporting: Alexandria, VA News – WTOP News — read the source article.