Ebola strikes the Democratic Republic of Congo. The outcome of the outbreak exceeds 2,000 infections

Bundibugyo strain

There is currently no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain causing this outbreak, but the first clinical trial of a potential drug began on Tuesday, according to the World Health Organization.

Doctors Without Borders warned Wednesday that the disease is spreading in new areas at an unprecedented pace, and called for an urgent increase in the level of the medical response.

Confirmed cases have doubled

It said The organization in a statement "In less than five weeks, the number of confirmed cases has tripled"while "Deaths have increased more than five times"The relief organization added that the outcome of the current outbreak has already exceeded half the number of cases recorded during the previous Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 2018 and 2020. "Unidentified transmission chains"

He also expressed his concern that many of the newly recorded cases were of infected people who died without ever reaching any of the health units.

The clinical trial called "IBO-BEP" (EBO-PEP) antiviral efficacy "BuildDeliver" In patients confirmed to be infected with the Bundibugyo strain.

Blood attacks

The experimental drug developed by the American pharmaceutical company showed "Gilead Sciences"promising results in pre-clinical models against filoviruses, a family of viruses that cause hemorrhagic fevers.

The outbreak of the disease was declared on May 15 after several infections were recorded in the mineral-rich province of Ituri (northeast), where armed groups carry out frequent bloody attacks.