The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that a vaccine against the Bundibugyo species of Ebola could take up to nine months to become available. Two candidate vaccines are under development, but neither has undergone clinical trials yet, according to WHO advisor Dr. Vasee Moorthy.
WHO chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists in Geneva that there have been 600 suspected cases of Ebola and 139 suspected deaths, but numbers are expected to rise given the time taken to detect the virus. He reported 51 confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and two in neighboring Uganda.
On Sunday, the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern, but stressed it was not at pandemic level. Tedros said the emergency committee agreed the situation was "not a pandemic emergency" after meeting on Tuesday.
The 51 confirmed cases in DRC are in the eastern Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, and North Kivu province. Of the two confirmed cases in Uganda's capital Kampala, both had traveled from DRC, and one has died.
Local health workers report that some facilities are overwhelmed. Although personal protective equipment has started to arrive, they are still working without adequate protection. Trish Newport, an MSF emergency program manager, said health facilities are telling them: "We are full of suspect cases. We don't have any space."
The first known case was a nurse who developed symptoms and died on April 24 in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province. The body was repatriated to Mongwalu, one of two gold-mining towns where most cases have been reported.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids and broken skin, causing severe bleeding and organ failure. The Bundibugyo species has caused only two previous outbreaks—in Uganda in 2007 and DRC in 2012—killing about a third of those infected.
WHO advisor Moorthy said one candidate vaccine under development "would be the equivalent of" the only currently available Ebola vaccine, which is effective only against the Zaire species. He said it "needs to be prioritized as the most promising Bundibugyo candidate vaccine" and would likely take six to nine months to be ready. A second candidate vaccine, based on the same platform as the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, is being manufactured but lacks animal data to support its effectiveness.
Source: www.bbc.com