DR Congo confirms 9,066 Ebola cases, 4,381 deaths

ASTANA  –  The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recorded more than 9,000 confirmed Ebola cas­es since May, as preparations for a vaccine trial near completion, a wire service reported. The coun­try’s task force on Ebola released a situation report on Tuesday, showing that 9,066 confirmed cases and 4,381 deaths had been recorded as of Oct. 11, bringing the overall case fatality rate to 48.3 percent. A total of 2,389 pa­tients have recovered.

The outbreak has affected 65 health zones across seven prov­inces. The eastern province of Ituri remains the epicenter, accounting for 73.8 percent of all confirmed cases, followed by North Kivu Province, which has recorded the highest case fatality rate at 57.1 percent. Earlier this month, DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba said that the outbreak was becoming increasingly localized, with sever­al affected health zones reporting no new cases for weeks.

However, World Health Organ­isation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Oct 7 that while the epidem­ic was slowing in some areas, it continued to grow in others. He also highlighted persistent challenges, including the high proportion of deaths occurring in communities and gaps in con­tact tracing. The outbreak was caused by the Bundibugyo ebo­lavirus, for which no vaccine or treatment has yet been specifi­cally approved, although clinical trials are underway.

Ervebo, a vaccine approved against the Zaire ebolavirus, is being administered to frontline health workers under research protocols and through compas­sionate-use arrangements. Accord­ing to the latest situation report, 399 frontline workers had been vaccinated in Haut-Uele province as of Oct 11. Yet its effectiveness against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus remains unproven. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Inno­vations announced Tuesday that final preparations were underway for Tumaini, a pivotal Phase 2/3 clinical trial to evaluate vaccine candidates against the Bundibu­gyo virus. The trial, expected to begin in the coming weeks pend­ing ethical and regulatory approv­al, will likely evaluate Ervebo first, followed by vaccines specifically developed against the strain as they become available.