U.S. Readies Experimental Ebola Drug for 130-Plus Death Bundibugyo Outbreak

9 articles · Updated · Reuters · May 20

U.S. health officials are working with Mapp Biopharmaceutical to make an experimental monoclonal antibody available for people exposed to the Bundibugyo Ebola strain in Congo and nearby Uganda.
BARDA is coordinating the effort with ASPR, FDA and the State Department after lab data suggested the treatment—originally developed for Sudan virus—could also work against Bundibugyo.
More than 130 people have died in an outbreak the WHO says likely began about two months ago, with 600 suspected cases recorded after the virus spread undetected for weeks in a densely populated area.
No approved vaccine or virus-specific treatment exists for Bundibugyo, and responders on the ground say they still lack basic supplies needed to contain the spread.
The WHO has classified the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern, underscoring the pressure to deploy stopgap tools while any strain-specific vaccine remains months away.

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