Gilead launches Ebola antiviral trial in DR Congo as cases near 2,000

Today the first participants were enrolled in a trial testing Gilead Sciences’ experimental antiviral drug obeldesivir as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP, for preventing disease) for the ‌ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 

The trial, called EBO-PEP, is being conducted in Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, and is being run by the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa and several humanitarian partners. It comes as Ebola cases in the region approach 2,000.

For the trial, researchers aim to enroll nearly 1,000 participants, who are being recruited outside Ebola treatment centers in Ituri. “Participants, adults or children over the age of 12, must have been in direct contact with a confirmed case (a sick person shedding the virus, a corpse, or a needle-stick injury caused by a contaminated syringe) within the preceding five days, and must not be showing any signs or symptoms of the disease,” according to a news release.

 Each participant will be monitored daily for 21 days, with a final visit at 42 days. 

If successful, the EBO-PEP trial could establish post-exposure prophylaxis as a game-changing approach for preventing Ebola disease.

“If successful, the EBO-PEP trial could establish post-exposure prophylaxis as a game-changing approach for preventing Ebola disease among people who have been exposed to the virus. Combined with strong community engagement and effective contact tracing, it could provide an important new way to save lives and help bring outbreaks under control,” said World Health Organization Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD.

There are no targeted treatments or vaccines for Bundibugyo Ebola, and contact tracing has proven difficult in the conflict-ridden zone where the outbreak is taking place. A PEP strategy could offer a new hope to ending the outbreak.

Ebola total reaches 1,984 cases

As of today, BNO News is reporting the outbreak stands at 1,984 cases and 721 deaths. At least 608 deaths and 1,772 cases have occurred in Ituri province, according to a report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Of the total cases, 37 are new, as are 17 deaths. All but 21 cases and two deaths have been in the DRC, with one case in France and 20 cases and two deaths in Uganda.