Overview
- Government data put confirmed Bundibugyo Ebola infections at about 10,060 with roughly 4,887 deaths on Oct. 27, making this the deadliest outbreak in the DRC’s history.
- The outbreak has produced traceable importations to other countries, with Kenya reporting a nine-case cluster and Nigeria confirming one imported case that was medically evacuated to Switzerland while Nigerian authorities monitor about 53 contacts.
- WHO and partners launched the Tumaini phase 2/3 vaccine trial in the DRC on Oct. 23 to test candidate vaccines for the Bundibugyo strain that currently has no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
- Community mistrust, misinformation and violence are undermining response work, most recently when a nurse was killed and another health worker seriously injured in Bafwasende, Tshopo province.
- Africa CDC has deployed senior scientists led by Jean-Jacques Muyembe to investigate the Nigerian importation, WHO urges heightened surveillance without travel bans, and African health ministers are meeting to coordinate a regional response.