WHO begins Ebola treatment trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The World Health Organization has announced the start of a clinical trial of two potential Ebola treatments in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the country continues to battle an outbreak that has also spread to Uganda. The first patient has been enrolled in the trial, according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The trial is focused on the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments.

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Tedros said the enrolment marked the beginning of the trial, which is being sponsored by the WHO and coordinated by scientists at the National Biomedical Research Institute in the DRC, the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium and the University of Oxford in the UK. He said that even without approved therapeutics, some patients recover, but that safe and effective treatments could save many more lives. The announcement was made from WHO headquarters in Geneva on Thursday.

The outbreak began in May and has been declared a public health emergency by the WHO. According to WHO data cited in the announcement, the DRC has recorded 1,406 confirmed cases, 301 suspected cases and 438 deaths as of 30 June. Uganda has reported 20 confirmed cases and two deaths, while one confirmed case has also been recorded in France as of 1 July.

The figures underline the scale of the outbreak and the pressure on health authorities in the region. The trial matters because Ebola outbreaks can move quickly through communities and place severe strain on health systems. The Bundibugyo strain is one of six known Ebola species, although only three are known to cause outbreaks.

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Ebola is typically transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals, and people usually become contagious only after symptoms begin, which can take between two and 21 days to appear. That delay can make tracing and containment difficult during an active outbreak. The current response comes against a wider backdrop of repeated Ebola emergencies in central Africa, where public health teams have often had to combine surveillance, isolation, contact tracing and experimental treatment efforts.

The involvement of research institutions in the DRC, Belgium and the UK reflects the international nature of the response, even as the outbreak remains centred in the DRC and neighbouring Uganda. The WHO has said the aim is to add safe and effective therapeutics to the response toolkit. What remains unclear is how quickly the trial will expand beyond the first enrolment and whether the two therapeutics will prove effective against the strain in circulation.

The latest figures may also change as surveillance continues in the DRC and Uganda. For now, health officials are watching both the spread of the outbreak and the early results of the treatment study.

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