Concerns rise as rare type of Ebola spreads in Congo

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Welcome back in. Healthcare workers say that they are anxious in eastern Congo because they say they are under-protected and under-trained in a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak of the rare type of this virus. So, with us, we do have Dr. Swati Gupta. She is an infectious disease epidem- epidemiology and outbreak response expert. Good afternoon to you.

[00:00:22]Hi Jen. Good to see you. Thanks for having me. Of course. So, first of all, let's talk about why this is happening.

[00:00:29]I know years ago we were talking about Ebola. What is happening now? What What is going on over there?

[00:00:37]Well, just to put a little bit of context around this. Um this is a very active, fast-moving outbreak. Um we're looking at nearly 600 suspected cases and 139 deaths in less than 3 weeks.

[00:00:51]Um so, that's a pretty large number.

[00:00:53]The outbreak started in northeastern DRC, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in a remote mining village. Um it's a gold mining village called the Ituri province.

[00:01:06]And unfortunately, it's already crossed international borders into Kampala, which is the capital of Uganda.

[00:01:13]And I think what's important here to uh understand is that the WHO has already called this a public health emergency of international concern.

[00:01:23]Um the director general, his name is Tedros, and um he's already said publicly that he doesn't take this lightly.

[00:01:30]Um and he's deeply concerned about the scale and the speed of this outbreak.

[00:01:35]And And that really tells you everything you need to know about how seriously the global health community is taking this. Your expertise specifically has to do with vaccine development. There is no vaccine for Ebola?

[00:01:50]There is a vaccine for a different strain of Ebola that's called Ebola Zaire. Um that was developed in response to the 2014 to 2016 outbreak in West Africa in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, and then many other countries.

[00:02:05]But, that is a different strain of Ebola than what we're currently seeing right now in the DRC and Uganda. This is a more rare uh, strain of Ebola, and it's called uh, Bundibugyo.

[00:02:19]Okay. And so, when we hear that health care workers say they're under-protected, under-trained, is it because of this specific strain?

[00:02:31]Well, I mean, there's a a number of different factors coming into play. Um, you know, this is an area that is uh, remote and isolated. It's also an area of civil conflict.

[00:02:45]Um, there's not a lot of infrastructure, and there's not um, a large hospital nearby.

[00:02:51]So, um, you know, really what's happening right now is there's an international response, and all of the supplies and different types of things that can be done as part of a public health response are being put into place, if they haven't been put into place already.

[00:03:06]But, what they also mean is that because this is a rare strain of Ebola, and there is no vaccine, diagnostic, or treatment readily available, they don't have a lot of tools to um, help respond to the outbreak, except for what we call supportive care, where they're trying to keep patients alive through supportive therapy and electrolytes.

[00:03:26]Crazy, cuz it's so serious. So, I want you to think about the people that live here in the United States. It is the beginning of the summer travel season, and I know when the hantavirus started, everyone was worried about getting on a plane or getting on a cruise ship. For the people in the United States, or even people that might be traveling to Europe, is there a concern?

[00:03:48]So, right now, and you know, I think it's always um, important to preface at this moment the risk to an average American is very low.

[00:03:57]Um and that's not, you know, any kind of spin. That's the WHO's formal assessment.

[00:04:03]Um and the reason for that is, you know, people need to understand that Ebola does not spread through the air. Um you can't get it from being on a plane with someone or from a cough or from being in the same room.

[00:04:15]It spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids of a symptomatic person.

[00:04:20]So, you're talking about blood, sweat, semen, vomit. Um so, healthcare workers and family caregivers of the sick are the ones that are most at risk.

[00:04:30]And the US has really robust uh airport screening and isolation capacity and biosafety measures.

[00:04:37]So, um really, you know, we have all the measures in place that we need, but we need to stay vigilant. Um but I would also add that this is not just, you know, an African problem. And I think the viewers need to understand that. Um there has already been one US citizen who was evacuated from Africa. He tested positive um and was transferred to a treatment center in Germany. So, it's already left the country.

[00:05:02]Um second, the outbreak is in a mining area, as I I stated, in a conflict zone, and there's active movement of people.

[00:05:10]And Kampala is a very, very busy city.

[00:05:12]It's an international travel hub. So, once a virus reaches a major international city with an international airport, there's always a chance that, you know, a virus could leave the country.

[00:05:23]Um and then third, you know, just to take us back again to 2014, the last time that we had a large outbreak that went undetected for a matter of weeks or months, it was difficult to contain after that, and it took it took a lot of time.

[00:05:36]So, I would not say this is only an African problem. But again, the risk right now to the average American is very low.

[00:05:43]Do you think they're taking it seriously? It sounds like you do.

[00:05:46]Oh, yeah, Definitely. There's a whole group of international organizations, relief organizations, product developers, WHO, groups that are sort of coming together to fight the response and and also at the same time put into place clinical trials that might help get vaccines and treatments to the people that need them.

[00:06:09]I'm not the expert, you are. As we wrap it up, anything I didn't ask you, anything that you think needs to be said that you think people should know?

[00:06:18]I mean, I I would be remiss if I didn't say that, you know, the world has the tools and the knowledge to stop this.

[00:06:25]But it really requires a lot of resource and coordination and sustained funding.

[00:06:31]And what we see is that when these outbreaks occur, they get a lot of attention and then funding flows and the money flows and the will flows, but once they're over, all of that tends to go away. So, what we really need is to, you know, figure out how early we can act in these situations and be better prepared before they happen. I love it. All right, Dr. Swati Gupta, we appreciate your insight. Thank you so much.

[00:06:53]Thanks for having me. You bet.