The first participant has been enrolled in the PARTNERS study as deaths from the outbreak reach 438, the WHO has said
A clinical trial of two possible Ebola treatments has begun in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), where an outbreak has killed nearly 440 people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Thursday that the first participant had been enrolled in the Platform Adaptive Randomized Trial for New and Repurposed Filovirus TreatmentS (PARTNERS), which will test treatments for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.
Tedros said 438 people have died in the outbreak so far, with 1,406 confirmed cases reported. The Bundibugyo strain is highly infectious, and there are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments.
“We urgently need treatments that can help people affected by Bundibugyo virus disease. One of the key lessons from recent outbreaks is that research needs to happen alongside the response, not after it,” PARTNERS Trial Operations Lead Professor Amanda Rojek said.
READ MORE: Ebola cases top 1,300
The WHO-backed trial is being conducted with the DR Congo’s National Institute of Biomedical Research, Oxford University, the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine and other partners.
The study will assess Gilead Sciences’ antiviral drug remdesivir and Mapp Biopharmaceutical’s MBP134, an antibody-based treatment, either separately or in combination. Patients will receive standard care and be monitored for survival over 28 days.
The WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern in May, after laboratory confirmation of Bundibugyo virus disease in DR Congo and Uganda.
Read more Why is the current Ebola outbreak worrying health officials?The current outbreak is DR Congo’s 17th since Ebola was first identified in 1976. Uganda has also reported 20 confirmed cases and two deaths. Late last month, France recorded its first Ebola case, involving a doctor who had returned from a humanitarian mission in DR Congo.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said last week that health systems in DR Congo, particularly in Ituri Province, the epicenter of the outbreak, were under strain amid worsening humanitarian conditions. Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu have been affected for years by attacks by armed groups and fighting that has led to mass displacement.
Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said about $1.4 billion is required to respond to the Ebola outbreak, roughly three times higher than the previous estimate.
READ MORE: Health officials issue urgent funding warning over Ebola outbreak
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