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The Most Basic Step of the Ebola Response Is Falling Short
Curbing the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will require stepping up testing.
TL;DR
- The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second-worst on record and is spreading rapidly.
- Existing GeneXpert machines, previously stockpiled and effective for the Zaire strain, cannot detect the rarer Bundibugyo strain currently circulating.
- This diagnostic failure has led to significant delays in confirming cases, with a four-week gap between the first symptoms and laboratory confirmation.
- PCR testing is the only reliable method for detecting the Bundibugyo strain, but it is slow and geographically limited, with samples requiring extensive travel.
- Despite improvements, testing capacity remains insufficient, and a high percentage of tests come back positive, suggesting widespread undertesting.
- Distributing GeneXpert cartridges capable of detecting all human Ebola strains, which already exist and are FDA-approved for specific labs, could rapidly improve diagnostic speed.