WHO releases first clinical guidelines for all Ebola and Marburg viruses

WHO Issues First Global Clinical Guidelines for Ebola and Marburg

The World Health Organization on Tuesday released its first comprehensive clinical guidelines covering all major filovirus diseases, including every known species of Ebola and Marburg virus, as a fast-moving outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to overwhelm health systems in the country’s east.

The guidelines outline 16 evidence-based recommendations aimed at improving survival through early supportive care — managing dehydration and shock, identifying bacterial co-infections, monitoring patients with laboratory tests, and providing structured aftercare for survivors.who

“These new guidelines are a perfect example of how WHO leverages science to better protect and care for people during outbreaks and health emergencies,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement accompanying the release. “The current Bundibugyo virus outbreak is a stark reminder of the need for diligent, holistic and person-focused medical care, to save lives and preserve human dignity.”who

Outbreak Passes 800 Confirmed Cases

The guidelines arrive as the DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak since 1976 accelerates. As of June 15, the DRC health ministry reported 837 confirmed cases and 196 deaths, with 376 patients in isolation. Uganda has recorded 19 confirmed cases and two deaths. The WHO declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on May 17, marking the first time a director-general invoked that designation before convening an emergency committee.who

Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya warned on June 16 that if the outbreak is not contained, “it will surpass the severity of what we experienced in West Africa,” referring to the 2014–2016 epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people. Modeling from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that if only 20 percent of patients are isolated, there is a 65 percent chance case numbers could exceed 20,000 within three months.npr

Race for Treatments

No approved vaccine or therapeutic exists for Bundibugyo virus, making the WHO’s emphasis on supportive care all the more urgent. A WHO-sponsored clinical trial is being prepared to test two experimental treatments: remdesivir, manufactured by Gilead Sciences, and MBP134, a monoclonal antibody cocktail developed by Mapp Biopharmaceutical. Experts meeting under WHO auspices in late May recommended prioritizing both products, along with maftivimab, for clinical evaluation.hejnu

Thomas Geisbert, a virologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch, told Nature that MBP134 led to recovery in five of six monkeys infected with Bundibugyo virus in a 2019 study. “It’s a true therapeutic — we’ve used it against Bundibugyo and it works fantastically,” he said. The doses are owned by the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, and Mapp’s CEO Larry Zeitlin confirmed the company has sufficient supply for a trial.nature

The DRC health minister announced on May 30 that U.S. health authorities had agreed to support a Phase 2 trial of an experimental antibody treatment in Congo, with initial doses expected to arrive soon.straitstimes