Health officials declare Ebola outbreak a public health emergency

By Jaimy Lee

The Bundibugyo virus, a type of Ebola virus, is causing an outbreak in Congo and Uganda

A staff member checks a visitor's temperature using a a contactless infrared thermometer before allowing her access to the CBCA Virunga Hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Sunday.

A rare strain of Ebola virus likely caused 80 deaths in Congo and Uganda, prompting the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency.

The outbreak has been reported in two regions: the Mongbwalu and Bunia health zones, both of which are near the Democratic Republic of the Congo's eastern border with Uganda, and the Rwampara Health Zone, near Uganda's western border.

WHO officials say the outbreak is of particular concern because the Ituri Province - the region around Mongbwalu and Bunia - is considered a "commercial and migratory hub" where Uganda, Congo and South Sudan meet. It's an area known for gold mines, and more than 1 million displaced people are living in camps there as a result of ongoing violence driven by militias and ethnic groups.

So far, there have been 80 suspected deaths, eight confirmed cases, and 246 suspected cases, including several healthcare workers treating patients. The first case was reported on April 24, in a healthcare worker who later died.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday evening that it's involved in a U.S. effort to withdraw "a small number of Americans who are directly affected by this outbreak." It did not disclose the number of Americans.

The Bundibugyo virus is one of four types of orthoebolaviruses that make humans sick. It's a different strain than the Zaire ebolavirus, which caused a massive outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone that began in 2013. That outbreak sickened at least 28,616 people and killed another 11,310; it was of concern because it impacted highly mobile groups of people.

There were also about 36 cases in several other countries, including Italy, Nigeria and the U.K. In the U.S., there were 11 likely cases, mostly in people who had traveled to West Africa.

The epidemic garnered international attention, making the broader public aware of the disease and eventually leading to the development of treatments and vaccines that have since been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It's a story that's been retold in recent weeks amid the Andes virus outbreak on a cruise ship to show how outbreaks sometimes lead to scientific breakthroughs.

"Until the West African outbreak, there were many, many things we didn't know about the virus," said Kartik Chandran, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, said earlier this month. "And it's only an unfortunate circumstance of this huge epidemic that we were able to get samples and look at chains of transmission and really understand what the virus is doing to people."

"After that, everything changed," he added.

There are now two Ebola treatments, both of which are monoclonal antibodies: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' (REGN) Inmazeb, and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics' Ebanga. Merck (MRK) makes a vaccine called Ervebo, and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has the Zabdeno/Mvabea vaccine. However, none can treat or prevent disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus, and there are no studies for Bundibugyo vaccines or therapeutics listed on ClinicalTrials.gov, a centralized database of clinical trials.

An infection with Bundibugyo virus can occur when someone comes in contact with infected bats or primates, according to the WHO. Most Ebola spillover events, which is when a virus like Ebola is transmitted to humans, occur in miners working deep in caves where bats live. The virus can be spread between humans who come into contact with an infected person's blood or fluids or by touching contaminated surfaces. That's why healthcare workers are at high risk of contracting the virus.

The incubation period is between two and 21 days, and the mortality rate in past Bundibugyo outbreaks was between 30% and 50%. The most recent Bundibugyo outbreak was in 2012.

The WHO said Saturday that the outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern. There have been nine such declarations, including the Ebola outbreak in 2013, the COVID-19 pandemic and the swine flu pandemic in 2009.

The CDC issued a "level 2" warning, saying that people should practice enhanced precautions. There are four levels in the CDC's warning system.

-Jaimy Lee

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05-17-26 1902ET