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What to Know About the Outbreak of a Rare Kind of Ebola
The rare Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or treatment, and WHO said 134 cases and 18 deaths have been reported in Congo and Uganda.
- On Friday, the World Health Organization declared the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, with authorities reporting 134 confirmed cases and 18 deaths across both countries.
- Characterized by a fatality rate of around 30%-50%, the Bundibugyo virus differs fundamentally from the dominant Zaire Ebola virus that has driven Congo's previous outbreaks, making this the worst recorded instance of this rare type.
- Response efforts face significant hurdles from the Allied Democratic Force and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels controlling eastern Congo, while community distrust has sparked at least three attacks against health centers, complicating containment efforts.
- Doctors Without Borders warned on May 30 that efforts are failing to keep pace, even as the United States announced $80 million in additional aid, bringing its total commitment to more than $112 million.
- A WHO technical advisory group is prioritizing candidate vaccines for clinical trials, though the emergency declaration's goal of spurring donor action faces uncertain prospects given mixed results from previous global health alerts.
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What to know about the Bundibugyo virus, a species of Ebola causing an outbreak in Congo
The virus causing an outbreak in Congo suspected of killing more than 200 people is less common than others that cause Ebola disease, which is complicating the response, because there are no specific treatments or vaccines.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources23
Leaning Left6Leaning Right4Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution47% Center
Bias Distribution
- 47% of the sources are Center
47% Center
L 32%
C 47%
R 21%
Factuality
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