The world is once again watching an Ebola outbreak unfold, but this time, the danger is heightened by a troubling factor: the virus strain involved.
The current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda is being driven by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a rarer and particularly concerning variant that has triggered the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency of international concern.
Why is this Ebola virus outbreak concerning?
What makes this Ebola outbreak especially alarming is not simply the number of suspected cases or deaths, but the fact that the Bundibugyo virus, which, unlike the more common Zaire strain of Ebola, has no
approved virus-specific therapeutics or vaccine.
Unlike the more commonly known Zaire Ebola strain, for which licensed vaccines and more established treatment protocols exist, this situation was one that health care workers and vulnerable communities would have been prepared for. This changes the risk equation.
The outbreak is suspected to have killed around 80 people in recent weeks, with eight cases confirmed by laboratory testing and 246 suspected cases reported in eastern DRC's Ituri province.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also said on Sunday that it was supporting partners withdrawing a small number of directly affected Americans and has introduced measures aimed at reducing the risk of Ebola in the United States, including enhanced screening and monitoring of travelers from areas affected by Ebola outbreaks.
Ebola is already one of the world’s most feared infectious diseases because of its severe symptoms, including hemorrhagic fever, organ failure, and high fatality rates.
According to Reuters, an outbreak of the Zaire strain from 2018-2020 in North Kivu and Ituri provinces was the second deadliest on record, killing nearly 2,300 people.
While Ebola does not spread as easily as airborne respiratory viruses, its lethality, combined with the absence of a vaccine for this strain, makes this outbreak uniquely dangerous.