The estimated size of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has fallen by hundreds of cases as outbreak response efforts have ramped up and increased testing has ruled out illnesses.

On Tuesday, a representative for the World Health Organization confirmed to Reuters that Congolese authorities are now reporting 437 cases in the DRC, including 321 confirmed cases and 116 suspected. That's a significant difference from the case count the WHO relayed Friday, which totaled 1,041 cases, including 135 confirmed cases and 906 suspected. Over the weekend, the director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Jean Kaseya, also wrote in an op-ed that there were more than 1,100 suspected cases.

The number of deaths has also been lowered to 48 confirmed deaths. On Friday, the WHO had reported 241 deaths, including 18 confirmed and 223 suspected.

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The estimated size of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has fallen by hundreds of cases as outbreak response efforts have ramped up and increased testing has ruled out illnesses.

On Tuesday, a representative for the World Health Organization confirmed to Reuters that Congolese authorities are now reporting 437 cases in the DRC, including 321 confirmed cases and 116 suspected. That's a significant difference from the case count the WHO relayed Friday, which totaled 1,041 cases, including 135 confirmed cases and 906 suspected. Over the weekend, the director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Jean Kaseya, also wrote in an op-ed that there were more than 1,100 suspected cases.

The number of deaths has also been lowered to 48 confirmed deaths. On Friday, the WHO had reported 241 deaths, including 18 confirmed and 223 suspected.

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The global health organization Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced Monday that it will "urgently accelerate development" of three vaccine candidates against Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV), pledging a little over $60 million in the effort to extinguish an outbreak currently raging out of control in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Under the plans, CEPI has committed up to $50 million to US-based Moderna for preclinical development and Phase 1 clinical testing of its mRNA-based BDBV vaccine candidate. The funding will simultaneously allow the company to ramp up manufacturing capabilities and ready large-scale Phase 2/3 trials in the event the vaccine makes it through early testing. The vaccine will use Moderna's mRNA vaccine platform that allowed for rapid development of a COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic.

"[W]e believe our mRNA platform can play an important role in responding rapidly to emerging infectious disease threats," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement Monday. " We will move with urgency and scientific rigor to support the response and help bring a potential vaccine closer to the communities that need it most."

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The global health organization Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced Monday that it will "urgently accelerate development" of three vaccine candidates against Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV), pledging a little over $60 million in the effort to extinguish an outbreak currently raging out of control in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Under the plans, CEPI has committed up to $50 million to US-based Moderna for preclinical development and Phase 1 clinical testing of its mRNA-based BDBV vaccine candidate. The funding will simultaneously allow the company to ramp up manufacturing capabilities and ready large-scale Phase 2/3 trials in the event the vaccine makes it through early testing. The vaccine will use Moderna's mRNA vaccine platform that allowed for rapid development of a COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic.

"[W]e believe our mRNA platform can play an important role in responding rapidly to emerging infectious disease threats," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement Monday. " We will move with urgency and scientific rigor to support the response and help bring a potential vaccine closer to the communities that need it most."

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The Trump administration is refusing to repatriate Americans exposed to Ebola amid the outbreak still raging in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But the plan to send US citizens to Kenya has hit a snag, and officials are still scrambling to find other countries that might take them.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that the administration had devised a plan to establish a makeshift quarantine and treatment facility in Kenya—instead of bringing its citizens home for high-quality care at specialized facilities built for this purpose. According to the initial plans, the US facility would be in Laikipia, about 120 miles north of Nairobi, where the US has an air base. Initially, the plan was to set up a 50-bed quarantine facility that was expected to be operational today, May 29. Then, in a second state, officials would set up isolation and biocontainment units to house Americans infected with the virus.

But after a series of events on Thursday and Friday, that plan has now been stalled. The Katiba Institute, which advocates for Kenyans' constitutional rights, filed the petition on Thursday to challenge the establishment of the quarantine and treatment facility.

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The Trump administration is refusing to repatriate Americans exposed to Ebola amid the outbreak still raging in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But the plan to send US citizens to Kenya has hit a snag, and officials are still scrambling to find other countries that might take them.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that the administration had devised a plan to establish a makeshift quarantine and treatment facility in Kenya—instead of bringing its citizens home for high-quality care at specialized facilities built for this purpose. According to the initial plans, the US facility would be in Laikipia, about 120 miles north of Nairobi, where the US has an air base. Initially, the plan was to set up a 50-bed quarantine facility that was expected to be operational today, May 29. Then, in a second state, officials would set up isolation and biocontainment units to house Americans infected with the virus.

But after a series of events on Thursday and Friday, that plan has now been stalled. The Katiba Institute, which advocates for Kenyans' constitutional rights, filed the petition on Thursday to challenge the establishment of the quarantine and treatment facility.

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