Stellenbosch University scientists warn urgent action needed on Ebola outbreak

Scientists from Stellenbosch University have warned that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) requires an urgent and highly co-ordinated response focused on strengthening disease surveillance and expanding diagnostic capacity closer to affected communities.

Last Friday the DRC ministry of health confirmed an outbreak of Ebola disease in Ituri Province, in northeastern DRC.

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, as of May 16, a total of 246 suspected cases and 80 deaths had been reported.

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, was declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organisation on May 17, underscoring the urgent need for co-ordinated regional and global action.

Scientists at Stellenbosch University’s faculty of medicine and health sciences have rapidly mobilised to support efforts aimed at understanding and containing the outbreak in both the DRC and neighbouring Uganda.

Prof Jean Nachega, director of the university’s Biomedical Research Institute (BMRI), is currently serving on the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Emergency Consultative Group, which is advising on strategies to strengthen the continental response.

Nachega said every effort had to be made to contain the outbreak early to prevent further regional, continental and global spread.

He and his BMRI colleagues have longstanding collaborations with Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum, director of the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) in the DRC, and one of Africa’s leading virologists who co-discovered the Ebola virus.

The partnerships, strengthened during collaborative work on the Covid-19 pandemic and mpox outbreaks, have enabled a rapid scientific and operational response to the current emergency.

Scientists highlighted five major concerns regarding the current outbreak:

• The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, a less common strain than the Zaire strain responsible for several previous epidemics in Central and West Africa.
• Unlike the Zaire strain, there are currently no licensed vaccines or specifically approved treatments for Bundibugyo Ebola, making early detection and supportive care critical.
• Widely used rapid molecular diagnostic platforms, including some GeneXpert-based assays, may not reliably detect the Bundibugyo strain, meaning samples often need to be referred to specialised laboratories, delaying diagnosis and contact tracing.
• Although Bundibugyo Ebola generally has a lower fatality rate than the Zaire strain, mortality can still reach between 40% and 50%, especially in fragile health-care settings with delayed access to care.
• Confirmed cases in both the DRC and Uganda have raised fears of cross-border transmission due to population movement, regional trade routes and insecurity in affected regions.

Scientists also warned that Ebola symptoms can appear between two and 21 days after contact with the virus, although most people begin showing symptoms between eight and 10 days after exposure.

Early symptoms are often non-specific and may resemble other viral illnesses. These “dry symptoms” include:

• fever;
• muscle and joint pain;
• severe headaches; and
• weakness and fatigue.

Nachega said BMRI researchers were currently collaborating on:

• epidemiological investigations;
• genomic surveillance; and
• monitoring of viral evolution and genetic variability.

The team is also helping mobilise financial resources to support research aimed at accelerating the development of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines for the Bundibugyo strain, for which no validated medical countermeasures currently exist.

In addition, the university is strengthening epidemic preparedness, workforce development and research capacity through international training initiatives such as the NIH-Fogarty-funded D43 Emerging and Re-emerging Pathogens Research Training Programme in the DRC.

The work forms part of Stellenbosch University’s longstanding commitment to tackling emerging infectious disease threats across Africa through collaborative research, training and public health partnerships.

TimesLIVE