Ebola outbreak highlights cracks in infectious disease control

The 2014–2016 West African Ebola epidemic was the largest and most deadly Ebola outbreak in history, ravaging the countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia with select cases even making it to Europe and the U.S. via travellers. The impact was devastating, with more than 28,600 confirmed or suspected cases taking more than 11,000 lives, though both those numbers are likely higher due to underreported cases. 

If there was a bright spot, the world got a lot better at handling Ebola. The World Health Organization (WHO) learned how to respond faster while accelerated vaccine development led to an Ebola shot in 2019. Fast forward to today, and a new outbreak is creating fear that a crisis on the scale of 2014 could happen again, while global health bodies try to respond in a new reality where funding is under attack.

Last week, the WHO designated an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a public health emergency of international concern. What this very ominous-sounding designation means is that the outbreak was determined to “constitute risk to other states through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response.” Said international response has already begun, with the global health body hosting a scientific consultation yesterday with the world’s top experts strategizing on how to stop the spread before things get worse. 

There have been several cases of Ebola in Africa since the 2014 crisis, but this one is different — the Bundibugyo strain is a rare variant that doesn’t have a known vaccine. The WHO estimates that it could take up to nine months until a shot is ready for human trials and is considering using experimental drugs as a last-ditch effort to contain the virus. With a mortality rate of between 30% and 50% when adequately treated — and far exceeding that when not — many lives are at stake. More than 175 people have died since April, with more than 700 confirmed or suspected cases, as of writing. However, both these numbers could be substantially higher as the virus had likely been spreading undetected for several months.