An escalating outbreak of a rare Ebola strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo has kicked off a race to find vaccines and treatments that can be quickly tested and rolled out to save lives and stem the crisis.
More than 130 people have died so far during the outbreak, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated he was “deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic”.
Tedros pointed to the emergence of cases in urban areas, the deaths of healthcare workers, and significant population movement as drivers of the spread.
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It is the 17th Ebola outbreak in DR Congo, but just the third caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.
However scientists have developed numerous candidates for vaccines and treatments that have not yet been tested in humans.
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The WHO has said it would examine the options, including a vaccine called Ervebo that targets the more common Zaire strain and has already been deployed in numerous countries.