DR Congo Ebola cases amount to 2,905 as vaccine enters human trial

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recorded 2,905 confirmed Ebola cases with 1,269 deaths, the health ministry said in an update on Friday.

The sharp rise in cumulative figures was mainly due to the integration of harmonized databases from the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu into the national database on Wednesday, including previously uncounted cases, the ministry said, adding that the increase did not solely reflect newly reported cases from the past 24 hours.

It said 97 confirmed cases and 62 deaths were reported on Wednesday. A total of 519 patients have recovered, while 722 others remain in isolation or are receiving treatment.

During a visit on Thursday to Kisangani, capital of the newly affected Tshopo province, Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka said many patients were arriving at health facilities only after developing severe symptoms, making treatment more difficult.

She said the government would strengthen community training and awareness campaigns to encourage suspected patients to seek medical care at an earlier stage.

The government had allocated 50 million U.S. dollars to the Ebola response, with priority given to laboratories, medical equipment, community surveillance and patient care, she added.

Meanwhile, the University of Oxford announced Friday that the first volunteer had been vaccinated in the world's first human trial of a vaccine designed to protect against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus strain responsible for the current outbreak.

The candidate vaccine, ChAdOx1 BDBV, was developed by the university's Oxford Vaccine Group and Pandemic Sciences Institute. The Serum Institute of India has manufactured and stockpiled about 620,000 doses, including 4,000 investigational doses supplied for the trial, according to the university.

The first-stage study is expected to recruit about 50 healthy adults and will primarily assess the vaccine's safety and immune responses. Subject to regulatory approval, further clinical studies are being prepared in cooperation with partners in Uganda, the university said.