Ebola outbreak with uncommon strain erupts in Congo and Uganda; 65 deaths

刚果与乌干达爆发罕见毒株埃博拉疫情，已致65人死亡

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday confirmed an Ebola outbreak in the Northeastern Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Officials in Uganda subsequently reported that the deadly hemorrhagic disease had spilled over the border, with one “imported” confirmed case identified in Kampala, the capital. 非洲疾病预防控制中心周五证实，刚果民主共和国东北部的伊图里省（Ituri）爆发了埃博拉疫情。乌干达官员随后报告称，这种致命的出血热疾病已蔓延至边境，在首都坎帕拉发现了一例“输入性”确诊病例。

So far, the DRC has reported 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths, mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones. Although it is now just being reported, the outbreak already ranks around the 10th largest Ebola outbreak to date. This marks the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC since the virus was discovered in 1976. 截至目前，刚果民主共和国已报告246例疑似病例和65例死亡病例，主要集中在蒙瓦卢（Mongwalu）和鲁安帕拉（Rwampara）卫生区。尽管疫情刚刚被报道，但它已跻身有史以来规模第十大埃博拉疫情之列。这是自1976年发现该病毒以来，刚果民主共和国经历的第17次埃博拉疫情。

But unlike almost all of the country’s past Ebola outbreaks, preliminary laboratory results suggest that the current outbreak is not caused by the Zaire Ebola virus strain. Further genetic sequencing is ongoing today to determine the strain causing the illnesses. There are four virus strains known to cause Ebola disease in humans, and three have caused large outbreaks (Zaire, Sudan, and Bundibugyo). According to an early Reuters report from Uganda, officials said the case there involved the Bundibugyo strain. 但与该国过去几乎所有的埃博拉疫情不同，初步实验室结果显示，此次疫情并非由扎伊尔型（Zaire）埃博拉病毒引起。目前，进一步的基因测序工作正在进行中，以确定导致此次疾病的毒株。已知有四种病毒株可导致人类感染埃博拉病毒，其中三种曾引发大规模疫情（扎伊尔型、苏丹型和本迪布焦型）。据路透社援引乌干达方面的早期报道，官员称该国境内的病例涉及本迪布焦型（Bundibugyo）毒株。

Complicated context

复杂的背景

Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the Congolese virologist who co-discovered Ebola and heads the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa, told Reuters that finding a different strain than Zaire behind the outbreak could complicate responses, given that current licensed vaccines and treatments were developed against the disease from the Zaire strain. 刚果病毒学家、埃博拉病毒共同发现者、金沙萨国家生物医学研究所负责人让-雅克·穆耶姆（Jean-Jacques Muyembe）告诉路透社，此次疫情背后的毒株并非扎伊尔型，这可能会使应对工作复杂化，因为目前获批的疫苗和治疗方法都是针对扎伊尔型毒株开发的。

Africa CDC highlighted other complications of this outbreak, which include the urban context of Bunia and Rwampara; intense movement of people in the area, including mining-related mobility; militia clashes in the area; and gaps in contact tracing. The agency also noted the potential spillover not just to Uganda but also to South Sudan. 非洲疾控中心强调了此次疫情的其他复杂因素，包括布尼亚（Bunia）和鲁安帕拉的城市环境；该地区频繁的人员流动（包括与采矿相关的人员流动）；当地民兵冲突；以及接触者追踪方面的漏洞。该机构还指出，疫情不仅可能蔓延至乌干达，还可能波及南苏丹。

“Given the high population movement between affected areas and neighboring countries, rapid regional coordination is essential,” Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of Africa CDC, said in a statement Friday. “We are working with DRC, Uganda, South Sudan, and partners to strengthen surveillance, preparedness, and response, and to help contain the outbreak as quickly as possible.” 非洲疾控中心总干事让·卡塞亚（Jean Kaseya）博士在周五的一份声明中表示：“鉴于受影响地区与邻国之间的人口流动频繁，快速的区域协调至关重要。我们正在与刚果民主共和国、乌干达、南苏丹及各合作伙伴共同努力，加强监测、防范和应对工作，以尽快遏制疫情。”

In a press briefing on Friday afternoon, Jay Bhattacharya, who is heading the US CDC for now, said that the agency, which has offices in both DRC and Uganda, is offering technical assistance to the countries. “It is a large outbreak, and we were just informed yesterday about it. So we’ve been working very, very hard to coordinate with them,” Bhattacharya said. 在周五下午的新闻发布会上，目前负责美国疾控中心的杰伊·巴塔查里亚（Jay Bhattacharya）表示，该机构在刚果民主共和国和乌干达均设有办事处，目前正向这些国家提供技术援助。巴塔查里亚说：“这是一场大规模疫情，我们昨天才接到通知。因此，我们一直在非常努力地与他们进行协调。”

In a separate press briefing earlier today, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO received a signal of suspected Ebola cases in the DRC and sent a team to support the health ministry on May 5. WHO representatives are still there assisting in outbreak responses. Tedros also said WHO was releasing today $500,000 from WHO’s Contingency Fund for Emergencies to immediately support the response efforts. 在今天早些时候的另一场新闻发布会上，世界卫生组织总干事谭德塞（Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus）表示，世卫组织于5月5日收到刚果民主共和国出现疑似埃博拉病例的信号，并派遣了一个团队支持该国卫生部。世卫组织代表目前仍在那里协助应对疫情。谭德塞还表示，世卫组织今天将从其突发事件应急基金中拨出50万美元，以立即支持应对工作。