Update on Ebola drug trial: two strong performers identified (13.08.2019)

Two out of the four drugs being tested are more effective in treating Ebola.

GENEVA, Switzerland, August 13, 2019 -The co-sponsors of the Ebola therapeutics trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have announced advances that will bring patients a better chance of survival. Two out of the four drugs being tested are more effective in treating Ebola. Moving forward, these are the only drugs that future patients will be treated with. Details of the changes are available in this WHO/NIAID/INRB release.

This WHO initiative is the first-ever multi-drug randomized control trial aimed at evaluating the safety and efficacy of four drugs used for treatment of Ebola patients. Initially developed as a multi-outbreak, multi-country study, PALM (“Together save lives”) was launched in November 2018. It is part of the emergency response in DRC, in collaboration with a broad alliance of partners, including the DRC’s National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB), Ministry of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is part of the United States’ National Institutes of Health, Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the International Medical Corps (IMC), and other organizations.

In addition to researching the best treatments for Ebola, other efforts by team members and partners in the field are also critical in impacting survival rates. Teams of epidemiologists and community members work with communities to identify cases and provide care as quickly as possible. The teams ensure contacts are vaccinated against the disease and that their health is monitored for three weeks. Active case finding, contact tracing, and community acceptance of these teams are vital to ending the outbreak.

WHO is committed to continuing to work closely with the ministries of health of DRC and neighboring countries, and other international partners to ensure the outbreak response remains robust and well-coordinated. We will continue to conduct rigorous research and incorporate findings into the Ebola outbreak response through a variety of prevention and control strategies.

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Butembo: MONUSCO Police contributes its expertise to Congolese National Police Investigations following attack on a convoy (07.08.2019)

United Nations police experts provided their expertise to the PNC in identifying traces, clues and evidence following the killing of a response team member in Butembo.

BUTEMBO, Democratic Republic of Congo, August 7, 2019 – MONUSCO police has lent its support to Congolese National Police (PNC) Investigators in a bid to determine the circumstances surrounding the recent attack on the Beni-Butembo road axes aiming a convoy of the Ebola virus disease response team. The investigations are aimed to gather elements that would help identify the perpetrators of the attack, with a view to possible prosecution.

UN technical and scientific police expert in Butembo, Silviu Anton, visited the scene of the incident for technical findings along with PNC Research and Investigation Squadron Team. Escorted to the scene by elements of the Armed Forces of the Congolese Democratic Republic (FARDC), they immediately conducted searches and examined the clues and evidence available. The team was able to detect several bullet impacts on the vehicles, one of which had its engine seriously damaged. The attacked convoy consisted of three vehicles carrying Congolese and the World Health Organization doctors escorted by the PNC. No loss of human life was reported.

MONUSCO Police often assist PNC investigators with their technical and scientific police expertise. A few weeks ago, United Nations police experts provided their expertise to the PNC in identifying traces, clues and evidence following the killing of a response team member in Butembo.

MONUSCO Police experts also took part in the investigations, alongside their PNC counterparts, into the murder of the two UN experts in Kasaï; the trial is still on. Two years ago, they participated in an investigation that took place in Bukavu following a supposedly car bomb attack.

Those experts work for SOCSU, a unit that tasked to combat organized crime. They can be deployed wherever MONUSCO Police are present upon decision by MONUSCO Police Chief, General Awale Abdounasir. Their role is to back PNC’s investigations and to train PNC technical and scientific police officers.

RDC: Fil conducteur pour la desination des “ministrables” du Gouvernement de la Republique dans le cadre de la coalition CACH – FCC (03.08.2019)