A strain for which there is no vaccine and with a mortality that can reach 100% of cases causes one confirmed death and six under suspicion, with eight infected in Uganda, which has activated the international response
A 24-year-old man in Uganda has been the first fatality in a new Ebola outbreak, declared this week by the World Health Organization and the health authorities of that African country. There are six other deaths under suspicion and eight cases under study of possible infections, according to figures from the WHO, which has deployed aid in the region in response to the current outbreak, with more medical supplies and personnel. “So far, seven cases have been confirmed, including one death,” acknowledges the WHO. “43 contacts have been identified and ten people suspected of having contracted the virus are receiving treatment at the regional referral hospital in Mubende (district where cases are concentrated).”
The main concern is that it is a strain known as Sudan, for which the vaccine is ineffective, there are no therapies that specifically treat the disease and it appears rarely. In fact, for a decade he had not attacked anyone in this area. Although detected quickly, the spread of this disease that causes hemorrhagic fevers is feared, since the location of the cases is about two hours from the capital, Kampala, and on the way to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a significant influx of miners in search of gold and with great mobilization of personnel.
This dreaded strain of Ebola, which kills humans at rates ranging from 40% to 100% of cases, has caused seven outbreaks before this one. Four in Uganda and three in Sudan, indicate the WHO experts, brought together by its section on Health Emergencies in Africa.
“Current evidence shows that the Ervebo vaccine, which is highly effective against Zaire ebolavirus, does not provide cross-protection against Sudan ebolavirus,” admits the WHO in its most recent statement on this new outbreak. However, “early identification of cases and treatment of symptoms greatly increases the chances of survival.” Vaccine developments for this variant are still far from being approved, either because they are in the first phase of safety in humans or in preclinical evaluation.
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