Ebola Cases in DR Congo Surpass 1,700 as Death Toll Rises to 580

Kinshasa: Confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have reached 1,708, including 580 deaths, health authorities said in a statement today. According to Oman News Agency, the WHO announced last Thursday that it had launched a clinical trial of two treatments for the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus as the outbreak accelerates. "The clinical trial to evaluate two treatments has begun, with the first patient enrolled," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference. The trial, under the name "Partners," will assess a monoclonal antibody and an antiviral drug, both individually and in combination. The study is managed by the National Institute for Biomedical Research in the DR Congo, with support from the WHO and other partners.