Stellenbosch Scientists Support Urgent Response To Ebola Outbreak In DRC And Uganda

A health worker takes the temperature of a woman passing through the Kanyaruchinya checkpoint, as authorities and aid agencies intensify efforts to contain a new Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain, in the northern entry into the city of Goma, North Kivu province, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Image credit: Reuters/Arlette Bashizi

Scientists at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) are leading rapid efforts to support understanding and containment of the Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda.

Outbreak timeline

The WHO and the Africa CDC declared the outbreak a public health emergency, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated regional and global action.

The outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no vaccine, has alarmed experts because it went undetected for so long while spreading across a densely populated area, making it difficult to trace and isolate the contacts of infected individuals.

Reuters reports that the WHO had previously pointed to "a critical four-week detection gap" between when the first known case started showing symptoms and laboratory confirmation of the outbreak.

"Investigations are ongoing to ascertain when and where exactly this outbreak started," Anais Legand, WHO technical officer for viral threats, told reporters in Geneva.

"Given the scale, we are thinking that it has probably started a couple of months ago."

Congo has tackled 16 previous Ebola outbreaks, but first responders say they lack basic supplies, ranging from painkillers and face masks to the motorcycles needed to trace contacts, undermining their efforts to prevent further spread.

As such, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said that South Africa had pledged $2.5m to support the Ebola response.

Stellies efforts

“This outbreak requires an urgent and highly coordinated response focused on strengthening surveillance, expanding diagnostic capacity closer to affected communities, protecting healthcare workers, and accelerating research on diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines,” said Nachega.

“Everything possible must be done to contain the outbreak early and prevent further regional, continental, and global spread.”

Nachega and his SU-BMRI colleagues are currently collaborating on epidemiological investigations, genomic surveillance, and monitoring of viral evolution and genetic variability.

They’re also contributing and mobilising financial resources to support research and development efforts aimed at accelerating diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccine development for Bundibugyo ebolavirus, for which no validated medical countermeasures currently exist.

Additionally, they’re working to strengthen epidemic preparedness, workforce development, and research capacity through international training initiatives such as the NIH-Fogarty-funded D43 Emerging and Re-emerging Pathogens Research Training Programme in the DRC (EREP-RTP-DRC).