Ebola risk raised to ‘very high’ in DR Congo

The public health risk from the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been raised from “high” to “very high” by the World Health Organization (WHO)

In an update on Friday, WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the risk in the wider region in Africa was “high”, but it remained “low” globally.

The rare species of Ebola, known as Bundibugyo, has no proven vaccine and kills about a third of those infected. So far, the outbreak centred on DR Congo has resulted in 177 suspected deaths and 750 suspected cases.

It comes as scientists at Oxford University in the UK are developing a new vaccine that could be ready for clinical trials within two to three months.

Based on the same technology they developed for the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, there are no guarantees it will prove effective and it will take animal research and trials on people to know if it will be.

The BBC understands animal testing is already under way in Oxford.

The Serum Institute of India is lined up to mass produce the Ebola vaccine once Oxford can supply medical-grade material.

A separate experimental Bundibugyo vaccine is also in development, but it is expected to take six to nine months for any dose to be ready for testing.

Dr Vasee Moorthy, WHO’s research and development adviser, described that vaccine as “the most promising” earlier this week.

He said it would be the equivalent of Ervebo, which is already in use for the more common Zaire species of Ebola.

Speaking at Friday’s news briefing in Geneva, Tedros said: “We are now revising our risk assessment to very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level.”

He said that “so far, 82 cases have been confirmed in DRC, with seven confirmed deaths”.

Tedros added the situation in neighbouring Uganda – where there have been two confirmed cases of the Bundibugyo species and one death – was “stable”, with both cases from people who had travelled from neighbouring DR Congo.

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