Rare Ebola strain kills 65 in Congo and Uganda

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed an Ebola outbreak on Friday in the northeastern Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with authorities in Uganda later reporting that the virus had crossed the border. One “imported” case has been identified in Kampala, Uganda’s capital.

To date, the DRC has recorded 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths, concentrated mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones. Though only now coming to light, this outbreak already ranks as approximately the 10th largest Ebola outbreak since the virus emerged.

This is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC since 1976, but it stands apart from previous ones. Preliminary lab results indicate that the current outbreak is not caused by the Zaire Ebola virus strain, which has been responsible for most past epidemics in the country. Scientists are conducting further genetic sequencing today to identify the exact strain involved.

Four virus strains are known to cause Ebola in humans, and three of them,Zaire, Sudan, and Bundibugyo,have triggered large-scale outbreaks. According to an early Reuters report from Uganda, officials there stated that the case involves the Bundibugyo strain.

This shift in strain introduces complications, according to Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the Congolese virologist who co-discovered Ebola and leads the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa. He told Reuters that since existing licensed vaccines and treatments were developed specifically against the Zaire strain, a different strain could undermine response efforts.