Congo is testing a new Ebola antiviral right now. And the team steering the region's big trial push? It's based in Kampala. Quick catch-up before we dig in. Since the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared this outbreak on May 15, there's been no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain. Africa CDC says early diagnostic kits missed the virus for about five months before that declaration. CEPI has redirected $100 million toward vaccine work and is funding five candidates. Meanwhile, cases have kept climbing in North Kivu. This is Ebola Watch. So does a trial in Congo change anything for a sick nurse this month? And how fresh is the scoreboard we've all been staring at? We start at Makerere. Daily Monitor, with Tonny Abet:
Makerere University has been selected as the scientific project leader for a new €12.7 million (Shs56 billion) initiative designed to build the capacity of African nations to conduct clinical trials and respond rapidly to disease epidemics. The five-year project, dubbed Advancing Clinical Trials and Epidemic Preparedness Research Capacity in Africa (ACT-PREP), is funded by the European Union and Global Health EDCTP3.
Okay. Twelve point seven million euros, five years, run out of Makerere in Kampala. Blunt first question: does a program that runs to 2031 do anything for the outbreak burning in eastern Congo right now? Mostly, no. And the people who launched it aren't pretending otherwise. Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze's argument was about speed next time. When a new tool shows up mid-outbreak, you need local sites that can test whether it works for your population, fast. And Africa has the thinnest trial capacity anywhere while carrying the most outbreaks. For scale, the Monitor notes the EU has already committed five hundred million euros to the wider Ebola response. So this is the rounding-error line item. Small, but it's the line item that leaves something standing when the money stops. What I'd watch is the map. Uganda is scientific lead across eleven partner institutions, and the epidemic is in the DRC. Whether Congolese researchers sit at that table as partners or just host the trial sites will shape how fast anything crosses that border. So it's useful but slow, and the Kampala-Kinshasa politics are baked in from day one. This one's from The Kampala Report:
Kirenga said the project comes at a time when Ugandan scientists are contributing to research during the Ebola outbreak in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. He said researchers currently have seven protocols being studied in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including a new antiviral drug whose trial began recruiting participants about two weeks ago.
Right, so the Makerere piece was the money. This one has the part I actually wanted: Bruce Kirenga saying seven research protocols are running in Congo right now. And a new antiviral started recruiting participants about two weeks ago. Remember, for Bundibugyo there's still no approved vaccine and no approved treatment. So a new antiviral trial recruiting in Congo is real movement. Let's say it precisely, though. It's a trial enrolling patients. There's no efficacy data yet, and it's nothing a clinic in Butembo can order. Sure. But his bigger push is speed. He says some vaccine trials shouldn't have to run all three phases when there's already a lot known about the pathogen and the product. Mid-outbreak? Honestly, I'm with him. I'm with him on the paperwork, less on the phases. If a shortcut produces a result families don't trust, you've gained six months and lost the people you needed to roll up their sleeves. In an outbreak, uptake is half the intervention. This one's from European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control:
Ituri province remains the most affected, with 5 966 cases, including 2 737 deaths, reported from 28 of 36 health zones. In North Kivu, 1 438 cases, including 872 deaths, have been reported from 16 of 34 health zones.
Okay, scoreboard check. ECDC has 7,773 confirmed, 3,759 deaths. Data through September 21, page last touched on the 23rd. So what we're reading today is eight days old. And those are confirmed only, with forty new cases in that single report. ECDC also notes DRC's figures are still under review and harmonisation, so the total could get revised either way. Basically it's a snapshot of the lab pipeline, and the pipeline runs behind the virus. The line that bugs me is 84.5 percent of contacts under follow-up. Of identified contacts. Sounds great until you ask how many people never made the list. And North Kivu has 872 deaths out of 1,438 cases. That's a grimmer ratio than Ituri's. It is, though with lagged data I'd hold that ratio loosely. What I'd hold tightly is the spread. Five new cases in Haut-Uélé, three in Tshopo, and 63 of 167 health zones now affected. That antiviral trial we just heard about is enrolling on a map that keeps getting wider. Here's Angels in Medicine:
True to its philosophy of putting the patient at the heart of its work, ALIMA has taken on the logistical challenge of setting up four Ebola treatment centers (ETCs) — Rwampara, CME-Bunia, Nizi and Lita — in just two months. With a total capacity of 239 beds, this strategic network is vital to ensure that patients can receive treatment as soon as the first symptoms appear.
Four treatment centers in two months. Rwampara, CME-Bunia, Nizi, Lita. If you're mapping it, that's Bunia and the towns around it, dead center of Ituri. Two hundred thirty-nine beds total. The figure I'd hold onto is more than 1,700 recovered. With the Bundibugyo strain killing about 45.6 percent of confirmed patients, survivors are the part of this outbreak listeners almost never hear about. One caveat: ALIMA's counts are mid-September, first published on the twenty-first. Same vintage as the ECDC numbers we just went through. Okay, but put the beds next to the cases. Ituri has 5,966 confirmed and 239 ALIMA beds. North Kivu has 1,438, and nobody's reading me a list like this for Butembo. Where's the North Kivu version? Fair question. But two months is still the headline for me, because it proves the build can happen. ALIMA's also running clinical research inside those centers. A trial protocol approved in Kampala only matters if there's a working ETC in Ituri to run it in. Then copy the model and paste it south. Fast. If you're finding Ebola Watch useful, please subscribe and leave us a review wherever you're listening. Reviews help other people find the show, and they help us keep bringing you these daily updates.
Links to every story are in the show notes, so you can read more about the ones that caught your attention. That's Ebola Watch for today. We'll be back tomorrow. This is a Lantern Podcast.