Deadly Ebola virus could be mutating after thousands of cases

Fear is growing that the devastating Ebola outbreak could be mutating as cases surge.

The outbreak has been ripping through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for months, leading to a desperate fight against the infection with an extremely high mortality rate.

Over 1,800 people have died in the latest outbreak, and more than 4,000 cases have been logged as of August 5, according to the US Centers for Disease Control.

Now health officials on the continent have raised the alarm over the virus’s possible mutation, and called for a ramped-up response.

This could see possible cases being searched from door to door, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The latest spread, caused by the Bundibugyo variant of Ebola, was declared an outbreak in mid-May, but it may have been looming around since January.

With the majority of deaths in the city of Ituri occuring outside of medical facilities, officials suspect a large number of transmissions are untracked.

Plans for active case search from homes

Dr Jean Kaseya, the director general of the Africa CDC, said yesterday that plans were discussed for studies to check ‘if there is no additional issue, or maybe if the virus is not mutating.’

‘Because the level of severity of this Bundibugyo outbreak is unprecedented,’ he said.

Dr Kaseya admitted that contact tracing in the country was insufficient as only around 10 contacts were identified for every Ebola patient. Usually the expected number is around 40.

Plans are being drafted to send health workiers from door to door as part of the ramped-up efforts that will see a shift from ‘contact tracing to active case search, Africa CDC’s Dr Wessam Mankoula said.

While there is no vaccine yet against the infection caused by the Bundibugyo strain, experts are hopeful a different jab against Ebola could lessen the disease and curb deaths after positive data.

Northwestern provinces and districts of DRC near the border with Uganda have become hotspots during the outbreak. Efforts to tackle the outbreak have been complicated by ongoing internal conflict and fighting along with a high number of displaced people.

Uganda has recorded 20 cases and two confirmed deaths linked to the outbreak before the spread was brought under control.

France saw its first-ever confirmed Ebola case after a doctor returning from a humanitarian mission in the DRC was admitted to a specialist facility in June.

The UK has not recorded any cases of the disease during the latest outbreak, but previously in 2015 a case was clocked in Britain linked to the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.