"DRC's 17th Ebola Outbreak Becomes Deadliest in Country's History"
Bundibugyo virus
a rare Ebolavirus species with no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
PHEIC
WHO's highest alert level under IHR 2005, triggering coordinated global health response.
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a severe haemorrhagic fever caused by viruses of the genus Ebolavirus, family Filoviridae, first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Six species are recognised: Zaire, Sudan, Bundibugyo, Taï Forest, Reston, and Bombali. The DRC has been the most frequently affected country globally, having experienced seventeen outbreaks since the virus was first described. The largest outbreak in recorded history — until now — was the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic, caused by the Zaire strain, which killed over 11,000 people across Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
Global health governance for such outbreaks is anchored in the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005), a legally binding WHO framework that obliges member states to detect, assess, report, and respond to public health events of international concern. Under IHR 2005, WHO can declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) — its highest alert level — triggering coordinated global resource mobilisation and guidance on travel and trade. Complementing WHO at the continental level is the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), established by the African Union in 2017 and headquartered in Addis Ababa, which operates through the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) framework.
A structurally critical feature of Ebola's disease ecology is the differentiation among its strains. Pharmaceutical R&D investment has concentrated overwhelmingly on the Zaire strain — the most lethal and most frequently outbreak-causing — resulting in Ervebo (rVSV-ZEBOV), approved in 2019, as the only licensed Ebola vaccine. Rarer strains such as Bundibugyo and Sudan lack approved vaccines or specific treatments, creating a critical gap in global preparedness architecture. This reflects a broader market-failure dynamic: pathogens with lower outbreak frequency attract insufficient commercial R&D investment despite their demonstrated pandemic potential.
The Bundibugyo strain, responsible for the current outbreak, was first identified in Uganda in 2007 and has caused only a handful of outbreaks historically, which is precisely why it has received far less research attention. …
Among the following, which were frequently mentioned in the news for the outbreak of Ebola virus recently?
Which one of the following is a part of the Congo Basin?
Consider the following statements regarding the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD):
1.All six species of Ebolavirus have at least one approved vaccine.
2.The Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
3.The 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic was caused by the Zaire strain.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005, consider the following statements:
1.IHR 2005 is a legally binding framework applicable only to WHO member states that have explicitly ratified it.
2.A Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) is the highest alert level under IHR 2005.
3.IHR 2005 obligates member states to build core capacities in surveillance, laboratory, and risk communication.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following best explains why the Bundibugyo Ebola strain lacks an approved vaccine despite being a known pathogen?
Assertion (A): The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) was established to strengthen continental disease surveillance and response capacity.
Reason (R): Africa CDC is a body of the United Nations, headquartered in Geneva.
Which of the following is correct?
Which of the following countries were most severely affected by the 2014–2016 West Africa Ebola epidemic?
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