Belgian institute fears major Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda
All the conditions are in place for a major Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda, fears Laurens Liesenborghs, a specialist at the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp. Liesenborghs will travel to Congo in a few days’ time. Earlier today, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared this Ebola outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern".
An outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo variant of the Ebola virus is currently raging in Congo and Uganda. There are hundreds of suspected cases and at least 88 deaths.
ITM expert Laurens Liesenborghs identifies four factors contributing to the rapid spread of the virus. Firstly, the outbreak is centred in an urban area, rather than a rural one. Secondly, the virus was detected quite late compared to other outbreaks. As a third point, the expert notes that this is a new variant against which current diagnostic tools have little effect. Finally, he points to the fact that the outbreak is occurring in a conflict zone.
The Belgian Peter Piot was one of the discoverers of Ebola in the late 1970s. That is why the ITM in Antwerp has close ties with international research into the disease. Liesenborghs’ colleagues are leaving for Congo early this week, with Liesenborghs himself following a little later. Additional test kits are already being sent out.
“First and foremost, we will assess what the needs are,” Liesenborghs explains. “Then we need to determine how and where we can best provide support.” Specifically, the ITM aims to set up a clinical trial quickly, in collaboration with the WHO. This should lead to new treatments. “There is a need for specific medication for this variant.”
If a Belgian aid worker were to become infected, they would normally be taken straight to a university hospital in Belgium. Because all the necessary antibiotics and other medicines are available here, the survival rate is normally around 85 per cent.
The current Ebola outbreak is already the seventeenth in Congo since 1976. The deadliest epidemic in Congo, which took place between 2018 and 2020, claimed nearly 2,300 lives and left 3,500 people ill.
#FlandersNewsService | A staff member of a Congolese hospital checks a visitor’s temperature, before allowing her access © PHOTO Jospin Mwisha / AFP
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