Advocacy organizations are petitioning the U.S. government to make an experimental Ebola treatment, Mapp Biopharmaceutical’s MBP134, available for clinical trials and emergency use in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, where a Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak is currently active.
The letter was sent to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) by groups including Public Citizen, Health Global Access Project, AVAC, Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, Doctors for America, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. BARDA, in collaboration with the United States, developed the monoclonal antibody treatment targeting the Sudan strain of the Ebola virus.
This monoclonal antibody "cocktail" has been studied as a broad-spectrum therapeutic for Ebola and was derived from antibodies of survivors from the 2014 West Africa outbreak.
The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the DRC and Uganda has now reached 856, with 198 fatalities reported. The latest figures indicate 29 new cases and four new deaths.
Currently, there are no established vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Efforts to implement contact tracing and isolation measures have faced difficulties in the North and South Kivu and Ituri provinces of the DRC.
Africa CDC Highlights Significant Funding Shortfall
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has voiced concerns about a substantial funding deficit in the response efforts, one month after the World Health Organization (WHO) officially acknowledged the outbreak.
“This outbreak is not yet under control. Critical gaps remain in contact tracing, supplies, and a USD 21.5 million funding gap that must be urgently addressed,” the Africa CDC stated.
A recent situation report from the WHO indicates that the case-fatality rate in the DRC has risen to 23.8%. Between June 7 and June 14, confirmed cases increased by 60%, and the number of affected health zones expanded from 25 to 31. This includes 20 health zones in Ituri province, 10 in North Kivu province, and one in South Kivu province. Ituri province is the outbreak’s epicenter, accounting for 91.3% of cases and 79.7% of deaths.
North Kivu province, however, has recorded the highest case fatality ratio at 56.7%, compared to 20.7% in Ituri and 33.3% in South Kivu.
The WHO noted that “Transmission continues to be amplified by insecurity, high population mobility, and operational challenges in affected areas.” They added, “Follow-up coverage remains particularly suboptimal in Ituri Province (64.2%) and North Kivu Province (56.4%), posing continued challenges to interruption of transmission chains.”
In Uganda, officials have not reported any new cases since June 5, suggesting the outbreak there is stabilizing. The country has recorded 19 confirmed cases, one probable case, and three deaths.