An uncommon strain of Ebola responsible for a deadly outbreak in Congo has claimed close to 120 lives, and medical experts say the response efforts face significant challenges due to the lack of targeted vaccines or treatments for this particular variant.
“There’s nothing even close to ready for clinical trials,” said Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist who treated patients in West Africa during the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic. “And so that means responders, healthcare workers and other aid workers are really back to the basics.”
The strain responsible for the current crisis is known as Bundibugyo virus, representing a less frequently encountered form of what health authorities classify as Ebola virus disease.
According to Dr. Tom Ksiazek, a University of Texas Medical Branch virologist and veterinarian, Bundibugyo has triggered two previous outbreaks, all occurring within the same Congo River basin area. Ksiazek previously led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Special Pathogens Branch, the team that originally discovered this virus in 2007.
The transmission methods mirror those of other Ebola strains: direct contact with bodily fluids from infected or deceased individuals, including sweat, blood, feces or vomit. Medical personnel and family members providing care to patients face the greatest exposure risk, according to specialists.
“So very often we see doctors and nurses among the first to be infected and to die,” said Gounder, editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News.
Based on limited outbreak data available to researchers, Bundibugyo appears somewhat less lethal compared to the Zaire virus, which represents the most frequently occurring species.
“I think a 30%-plus mortality rate is still quite scary, but it’s hard to say with a lot of precision because we don’t have a lot of experience,” Gounder said.
During the two earlier Bundibugyo episodes, health officials detected initial cases quickly, Ksiazek noted, enabling rapid public health interventions: providing healthcare workers with appropriate protective gear, locating and quarantining exposed individuals, and delivering supportive medical treatment to patients. Adequate medical attention “reduces mortality significantly,” he explained.
This supportive care includes administering substantial amounts of IV or oral fluids, Gounder explained.
Medical teams are currently focused on identifying and isolating cases, tracking their contacts, and educating communities about virus prevention. During the West African epidemic, implementing safe burial practices proved essential for halting transmission, Gounder said, as people contracted the disease while preparing deceased relatives for funeral ceremonies. Ensuring healthcare workers receive proper protective equipment remains equally vital, experts emphasized.
“Of course, it’s problematic because vaccines are some of our best tools for combating infectious diseases,” said Lina Moses, an epidemiologist and disease ecologist at Tulane University. However, other public health strategies — community education, contact tracing, rapid testing — remain effective, she added.
“It’s important to keep in mind that every single Ebola outbreak that has occurred in the (Democratic Republic of the Congo) — we’re on our 17th now — has been stopped,” she said.
