Congolese Govt Begins First Ever Trial to Test Ebola Drugs

GOMA – The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) on Monday began the first ever trial to test the effectiveness and safety of four experimental Ebola drugs, Jessica Ilunga the spokesperson of Congolese Ministry of Health said.

The trial is the first-ever multi drug trial for Ebola treatment.

“While our focus remains on bringing this outbreak to an end, the launch of the randomized control trial in DR Congo is an important step towards finally finding Ebola treatment that will save lives,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

In a statement, Ghebreyesus said the giant step DR Congo is taking will now bring clarity about what works best, and save many lives in years to come, hoping that one day that the death and suffering from Ebola will be behind Congolese people.

So far, in the current outbreak, there have been 346 confirmed Ebola cases and more than 200 deaths.

“Our country is struck with Ebola outbreaks too often, which also means we need to unique expertise in combatting it,” said Dr Olly Ilunga, Minister of Health of the DR Congo.

“These trials will contribute to building that knowledge, while we continue to respond on every front to bring the current outbreak to an end.”

The current trial is coordinated by WHO, and led and sponsored by the DRCongo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB), in partnership with the DR Congo Ministry of Health, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) which is part of the United States’ National Institutes of Health, The Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) and other organizations.