DRC’s Latest Ebola Outbreak Unlike Others Due To Experimental Vaccines, Treatments, Situation In Conflict Zone

Al Jazeera: Why Ebola crisis in DRC is unlike anything before
“…[The Democratic Republic of Congo’s] North Kivu and Ituri provinces are among the most unstable and densely populated in the country, and subject to some of the highest levels of human mobility in it. At the same time, there are warnings that a ‘perfect storm’ of insecurity, community resistance about vaccinations, and political manipulation threatens the efforts to contain the spread of the virus. These factors collectively make the latest outbreak unlike anything the DRC, which is scheduled to hold a crucial presidential election on December 23, has experienced before…” (Essa, 11/27).

New York Times: Battle Against Ebola in Congo Pits Medical Hope Against Local Chaos
“The battle against Ebola now underway in central Africa is like no other. It is the first for which doctors have both a promising vaccine and treatments to offer. These medical innovations are experimental, but the vaccine seems to work well, the four new treatments have given preliminary hints of curative powers and a clinical trial of them began Monday. … [I]t is unique in another way: it’s the first to erupt in an area rived by gun battles…” (McNeil, 11/27).

NPR: Ebola Treatment Trials Launched In Democratic Republic Of The Congo Amid Outbreak
“…It is already the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s largest Ebola outbreak ever on record. Still, the country’s health minister, Oly Ilunga, expressed hope Monday that the new randomized trials mark a turning point on how to treat the virus. ‘Our country is struck with Ebola outbreaks too often, which also means we have unique expertise in combating it,’ he said. ‘These trials will contribute to building that knowledge, while we continue to respond on every front to bring the current outbreak to an end'” (Dwyer, 11/27).

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