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The Democratic Republic of Congo is seeking access to an experimental antibody treatment targeting multiple Ebola strains as confirmed infections and deaths continue climbing in the country\u2019s conflict-hit east.<\/p>\n
Congo reported 121 confirmed Ebola cases and 17 confirmed deaths as of May 26, while suspected cases climbed to 1,077 and suspected deaths reached 238, according to health ministry figures released Wednesday. Sixteen new infections were recorded in Ituri province alone, the ministry said.<\/p>\n
Eastern Congo faces a \u201ccatastrophic collision\u201d of war and disease as fighting and displacement accelerate the spread of Ebola and undermine efforts to isolate patients and trace contacts, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Wednesday, ahead of a planned visit to the country Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling,\u201d Tedros said in a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire.<\/p>\n
The outbreak is straining fragile health systems in eastern Congo, where violence, mass displacement and distrust of authorities have complicated efforts to contain the spread of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Health officials acknowledged persistent operational problems including weak contact tracing, delays in laboratory results, shortages of protective equipment and delays in establishing isolation facilities.<\/p>\n
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Congo formally requested access to an experimental monoclonal antibody developed in the US that has shown activity against the Zaire, Sudan and Bundibugyo strains of Ebola, Health Minister Roger Kamba said. The treatment would likely be evaluated through clinical trials involving confirmed patients.<\/p>\n
While Kamba didn\u2019t name the product, the description matches that of a compound from US biotech Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. The drug, MBP134, is made of two monoclonal antibodies isolated from a person who survived an Ebola outbreak a decade ago in West Africa. US officials are working with Mapp to provide the medicine to people exposed to Ebola, a person familiar with the matter said last week. The US government owns the existing doses, Mapp said.<\/p>\n
A US doctor currently being treated in Berlin after being infected in the outbreak received the antibody compound as well as an antiviral, Charite hospital officials said on Wednesday. He is in stable condition and recovering well. His family also got the antibody compound preventively, even though they show no symptoms of Ebola, doctors said.<\/p>\n
The Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or treatment. The WHO has warned the outbreak is spreading faster than responders can contain it after delayed detection allowed the virus to circulate across eastern Congo and into neighboring Uganda, which said Wednesday it was closing its border.<\/p>\n
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The outbreak now spans 13 health zones across the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, according to ministry data. New confirmed cases have also been reported in the North Kivu health zones of Oicha and Kalunguta, local health officials said.<\/p>\n
In a potentially encouraging sign, the first patient known to have recovered from the current outbreak had been discharged from hospital, local media reported, citing health officials in Ituri.<\/p>\n
Containment efforts continue to be hampered by insecurity and attacks on treatment facilities in outbreak areas.<\/p>\n
More than 15 500 travelers were screened at checkpoints and border-entry sites on May 26 alone, Congo\u2019s health ministry said. To date, Kenya has screened more than 55 000 travelers at ports of entry and tested 10 suspected Ebola cases, all of which were negative, the country\u2019s Ministry of Health said, as East African governments intensified surveillance measures across the region.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
#Congo #seeks #experimental #Ebola #drug #cases #surpass<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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