Families at Risk Join a Race Against Ebola in Congo

In eastern Congo, people who have watched loved ones become sick with Ebola are taking part in an unusual medical study that could help stop the disease before it spreads further.

More than 250 people have already joined a clinical trial testing an experimental antiviral drug against the Bundibugyo virus, the strain responsible for the current outbreak.

The study is taking place at Rwampara Hospital in Ituri province, the center of the outbreak. Participants include health workers and relatives of people who have tested positive for Ebola.

One woman joined the study after her husband became infected. She had been in close contact with him, including touching him while he was sick, and feared that she could also become infected.

So far, she and the other members of her family have not developed symptoms.

The trial is testing an experimental antiviral pill called obeldesivir. Participants take the drug soon after being exposed to Ebola, before symptoms appear. Researchers hope the treatment could prevent the disease from developing and help break chains of transmission.

The trial eventually aims to enroll nearly 1,000 adults and children over the age of 12 who have recently been exposed to a confirmed Ebola case but do not yet have symptoms.

Participants are monitored every day for 21 days, followed by another check by phone after 42 days.

For doctors running the study, the work is not simply about testing a new medicine. They are also trying to persuade frightened families to keep returning for monitoring while dealing with the emotional impact of the outbreak.

Some participants have lost relatives to Ebola during the trial. Researchers say those losses can make it difficult for people to continue taking part.

Health workers are also among those at risk. Congo has begun vaccinating healthcare workers with an existing Ebola vaccine while researchers continue studying whether it can protect against the Bundibugyo strain.

The outbreak has already spread across seven provinces, with thousands of confirmed cases and deaths recorded since it was declared in May.

For the people taking part in the trial, however, the research offers something urgently needed: a chance to protect their families and possibly help stop the disease from reaching others.

The study may take time to produce answers, but every participant is contributing to a larger effort to find a way forward in communities facing one of the world’s most dangerous diseases.

Sources

• Associated Press
• ALIMA
• World Health Organization