Response to the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Using “outbreak science” to strengthen the use of models during epidemics

“…In 2018–2019, the Ebola virus disease emergency in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to prompt fresh reflections on how to optimize epidemic response 1 . ‘Lessons learned’ from previous outbreaks often focus on the development and deployment of medical countermeasures, such as vaccines and antivirals.…”

Monkeypox — Enhancing public health preparedness for an emerging lethal human zoonotic epidemic threat in the wake of the smallpox post-eradication era

“…Whilst lessons are being learnt from each outbreak (Zumla et al, 2017), and the 'One Human-Environmental-Animal Health' approach is gaining momentum , much more remains to be done to achieve a substantial change of the status quo (Zumla et al, 2016). Critical to achieving this will be to effectively take forward and consolidate new African-led initiatives (Nkengasong et al, 2017;Nkengasong and Onyebujoh, 2018) that will reinforce integration of contextual knowledge of drivers and risks, and better enable Africa's preparedness to tackle and prevent emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases threats.…”

Bombali Virus in Mops condylurus Bat, Kenya

“…Six distinct Ebola viruses have been described; 4 are known to cause human disease ( 1 , 2 ). These include highly lethal pathogens capable of producing large outbreaks, namely Bundibugyo, Sudan, and Zaire Ebola viruses, the last responsible for the devastating 2013–2016 outbreak in West Africa and an ongoing extended outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( 1 , 3 , 4 ). Although the natural reservoirs of Ebola viruses remain unconfirmed, considerable evidence supports a role for bat species, particularly fruit bats, analogous to findings implicating Rousettus aegypticus fruit bats as a reservoir for Marburg virus ( 1 , 5 , 6 ).…”