Warning about a rare variant of the Ebola virus.

The latest Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda are attracting particular attention from the health community because the causative agent is the Bundibugyo variant – a rare strain of the Ebola virus that has only appeared a few times since it was first discovered in 2007.

A border checkpoint in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), leading to Gisenyi, Rwanda. Photo: THX

According to African health authorities, the outbreak originated in Ituri province in eastern Congo and quickly spread to several neighboring areas. To date, there have been a total of 336 suspected cases and 88 deaths in Congo and Uganda.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda a “global public health emergency”.

Unlike the Zaire strain, which has often dominated previous Ebola outbreaks in Congo, Bundibugyo is a rarer and less studied variant. This is only the third time this variant has been reported to cause a major outbreak, following the 2007–2008 outbreak in Uganda and the 2012 outbreak in Congo.

According to the WHO, data collected so far suggests a potentially much larger outbreak than what is currently being detected and reported. Experts believe this is not the most contagious strain, but the high mortality rate is due to current cases being concentrated in resource-scarce areas.

What makes this outbreak particularly worrying is the combination of the rare Bundibugyo strain and the challenging geographical conditions in the Ituri region – a remote area with limited transportation, located more than 1,000km from the capital Kinshasa.

Since there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo variant, control efforts rely primarily on epidemiological surveillance, isolation of suspected cases, and contact tracing. This makes the response capacity highly dependent on local healthcare infrastructure and resources.

HANH CHI

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/canh-bao-bien-the-hiem-gap-cua-virus-ebola-post853238.html