Ebola treatment trial begins in Congo as Bundibugyo outbreak grows

No approved treatments exist for rare Bundibugyo strain

The World Health Organization said Thursday that researchers have enrolled the first participant in a clinical trial of two experimental treatments for the Ebola virus in eastern Congo, where a still-growing outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain has now infected more than 1,400 people.

The virus causing the outbreak, called Bundibugyo, is less common than other Ebola strains, and no specific treatments or vaccines have been approved for it, the WHO said. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that more than 1,400 people have been diagnosed and 438 have died in the outbreak.

Standard supportive care, especially if started early, can help, and the WHO said more than 200 patients have recovered. However, the WHO said there is an urgent need for better options.

The trial “offers real hope that we can deliver concrete results for – and with – the communities at the heart of the outbreak,” Tedros said in a statement.

The study is the first Ebola treatment study in this outbreak, the WHO said.