The World Health Organization's Deputy Director-General of Emergency Preparedness and Response Dr. Peter Salama said that the Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is likely to continue until the middle of next year, according to Reuters.
As of Nov. 13, the WHO reported there were 341 confirmed and probable cases of Ebola in the region as well as 215 confirmed and probable deaths. The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced the latest Ebola outbreak Aug. 1.
The outbreak is occurring in the midst of an active war zone, where numerous health officials and civilians have been attacked. CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD, said in a The Washington Post article that if the conflict becomes more serious, it may not be possible to bring the outbreak under control.
Health officials are also planning to conduct a clinical trial of experimental Ebola therapies. The trial is set to begin in the middle of November and will compare an antiviral drug and three different antibody treatments.
"It's very hard to predict timeframes in an outbreak as complicated as this with so many variables that are outside our control, but certainly we're planning on at least another six months before we can declare this outbreak over," Dr. Salama told Reuters.