Residents in eastern Congo cling to hope as a new Ebola treatment trial begins

BUNIA, Congo — Residents at the epicenter of Congo’s Ebola outbreak are pinning their hopes on experimental treatments after researchers began a highly anticipated study in early July of two possible Ebola treatments in hopes of fighting the still-growing outbreak.At the Ebola treatment center inside Bunia’s Evangelical Medical Center, in eastern Congo’s Ituri province, the launch of the research was marked by urgency rather than ceremony on Thursday.As ambulances continued arriving and healthcare workers disappeared behind layers of protective equipment into isolation wards, the research effort unfolded quietly alongside the daily struggle to keep patients alive.The virus causing this outbreak, called Bundibugyo, is less common than others that cause Ebola disease and there are no specific treatments or vaccines for it.Already more than 1,400 people have been diagnosed and 438 have died, the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Thursday.The WHO announced the same day that the first participant had been enrolled in the study, which is evaluating whether the antiviral remdesivir, the experimental antibody treatment MBP134, or a combination of both can improve survival among patients infected with the Bundibugyo virus.Survival will be tracked for 28 days after starting treatment, according to WHO research adviser Dr.

Vasee Moorthy.The WHO-supported trial is a collaboration between Congo’s national biomedical research institute, INRB, Britain’s Oxford University, Antwerp’s Institute of Tropical Medicine, and other international health groups.The current trial focuses on confirmed Ebola patients receiving treatment inside specialized treatment centers, said Professor Yap Boum, head of emergency response at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.A second phase of the trial will include healthcare workers, close contacts, and others at high risk of infection, he added.Follow The Post’s coverage on ...