Clinical trials offer hope as Ebola outbreak accelerates

As Ebola infections continue to surge in the Democratic Republic of Congo, African scientists have launched unprecedented clinical trials for new treatments and preventive therapies in a race to outpace the continent's fastest-growing outbreak.

As of Sunday, the DR Congo had reported 1,926 confirmed Ebola cases and 702 deaths. The outbreak has spread across 37 health zones in three provinces, with 94 percent of cases concentrated in Ituri Province.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that Uganda, which has reported 20 mostly imported cases, has largely managed to contain transmission through aggressive surveillance and contact tracing.

"Unfortunately, the virus is still ahead of our response," said Wessam Mankoula, head of the Continental Incident Management Support Team at the Africa CDC, during a media briefing on Thursday. "It's moving faster than deploying the resources to control the situation."

Meanwhile, clinical trials have begun in the DR Congo to find possible targeted treatments to the Bundibugyo strain, which has caused the outbreak. Currently, there are no approved vaccines or targeted treatments for the strain.

The Africa CDC said the trials, which began this month, are evaluating the effectiveness of antiviral drug remdesivir, which was previously used in treating COVID-19; monoclonal antibodies, which are immune system proteins created in the lab; and combination therapies for treating Ebola patients.

Another study involving about 800 high-risk contacts is expected to begin this week to assess preventive therapies, marking one of Africa's most ambitious research efforts against the deadly virus.

"The clinical trials for therapeutics have already started, and we have begun recruiting patients under randomized clinical trials," Mankoula said. The studies offer hope of identifying effective medical countermeasures against the outbreak, he added.

In a statement announcing the launch of the trials, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said, "Even without approved therapeutics, people are recovering from this disease, but we could save many more lives with safe and effective therapeutics in our tool kit."

The studies offer "real hope" that concrete solutions can be delivered to communities at the center of the outbreak, he said.

However, scientists cautioned that the trials are taking place against the backdrop of a rapidly worsening epidemic.

The Africa CDC said the speed of transmission has surpassed previous major Ebola epidemics. During its first six weeks, the current outbreak recorded nearly 1,600 confirmed cases — significantly higher than the roughly 1,000 cases reported during the same period of the West African epidemic between 2014 and 2016.

"This means the outbreak is still progressing," Mankoula said. "Currently, the estimated reproduction number is 1.4, meaning every 10 infected individuals are expected to transmit the virus to approximately 14 others."