Doctors try to help someone infected with Ebolo.Image: keystone
June 26, 2026, 08:04June 26, 2026, 08:04
The number of Ebola deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 304. The Ministry of Communications in Kinshasa announced late in the evening that 1,155 cases have currently been confirmed in the Central African country. The epidemic in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu has not yet been stopped. Ituri in the north-east of the Congo is particularly affected.
Ebola fever is a life-threatening disease. The virus is transmitted through physical contact and contact with body fluids. The current outbreak is particularly difficult to contain, also because there is currently neither a vaccine nor a special therapy for the Ebola pathogen of the Bundibugyo type. However, clinical trials for medications are scheduled to begin next week.
The antiviral drug Remdesivir from manufacturers in the USA and Egypt, which is to be tested next week, has already arrived in Congo, according to the African health authority Africa CDC. It is a prophylactic agent that is intended to help after contact with the Ebola pathogen. The drug MBP134, which comes from the USA, should arrive in the coming days. Several companies are also working on additional vaccine candidates. (pre/sda/dpa)