EU sends experts to Congo as Ebola outbreak continues; Congo receives vaccines for clinical trials

Two European epidemiologists have been dispatched to the heart of the ongoing Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Pamela Rendi-Wagner, the agency's chief, announced that the experts will bolster surveillance efforts and bolster the overall response to the outbreak.

Since the current Ebola outbreak began in May, the ECDC has been actively supporting the African Centre for Disease Control (CDC), deploying experts to the DRC and Uganda. In June, the ECDC led an assessment of airport exit screening procedures in these countries while also sending experts to South Sudan.

As of now, the outbreak has resulted in over 7,600 confirmed cases and more than 3,670 deaths, with nearly eight in ten infections recorded in Ituri. Rendi-Wagner emphasized the tragic toll the outbreak has taken.

The ECDC maintains that the risk to Europeans remains minimal. While the virus spreads between humans through direct contact with infected individuals' bodily fluids, the likelihood of multiple importations to the European Union is considered unlikely, even in a pessimistic scenario with a rising case count in the affected regions.

In a separate development, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the beginning of clinical trials for the Ervebo vaccine, the only licensed Ebola vaccine. This vaccine will be tested for its effectiveness against the Bundibugyo virus, which is causing the current outbreak and has no licensed vaccine or treatment. A total of 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine have been made available to the Congolese authorities to support the outbreak response and related research.