刚果民主共和国正面临有记录以来第二大埃博拉疫情。截至8月4日，该国已报告3973例确诊病例和1801例死亡，由邦迪布基奥株埃博拉病毒引起[1]。非洲疾病控制中心主任让·卡塞亚表示病例已突破4000大关，并指出病毒可能正在发生变异[1]。这一疫情的传播规模令人震惊——相比2014年至2018年西非埃博拉疫情在同一时期的病例数，目前的病例数多出8倍，死亡人数多出6倍[1]。
疫情防控工作面临多重挑战。虽然首次报告于5月15日，但官方怀疑该疾病可能早在1月就开始传播[1]。超过三分之二的埃博拉死亡发生在社区而非正规治疗中心，而接触者追踪工作明显不足——每名患者平均仅确认10个接触者，远低于预期的40个[1]。为应对这一局面，相关部门计划扩大防疫措施，包括启用抗病毒药物瑞德西韦进行同情用途治疗，以及测试埃尔瓦博疫苗在受影响省份的适用性[1]。
Officials from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have raised concerns that the Ebola virus driving a massive outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo may be undergoing mutation.[1] As of August 4, the country has reported 3,973 confirmed cases and 1,801 deaths from the Bondibougou strain of the virus.[1] The Africa CDC director Jean Kaseya stated that cases have already exceeded 4,000.[1]
The outbreak, which was first reported on May 15, is suspected to have begun circulating as early as January.[1] It now ranks as the second-largest Ebola epidemic on record, with case numbers eight times higher and death tolls six times greater than those recorded within the first eleven weeks of the 2014-2018 West African Ebola outbreak.[1] More than two-thirds of Ebola deaths have occurred in community settings rather than in treatment centers, according to officials.[1] Contact tracing efforts have fallen significantly short of targets, with only 10 contacts identified per patient when 40 are expected.[1]
To strengthen response measures, authorities plan to expand outbreak control efforts and conduct door-to-door searches for patients.[1] The response strategy includes plans to deploy the antiviral drug remdesivir for compassionate use treatment and to test whether the Ervebo vaccine should be deployed in affected provinces.[1]