Testing, sequencing, and clinical trial efforts spring to life as Bundibugyo virus spreads

BU virologist Nancy Sullivan says the Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo underscores the need for broader outbreak preparedness. The death of a nurse marked the moment health officials recognized that something dangerous was spreading. The illness was Bundibugyo virus, a rare but potentially deadly infection now driving a growing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and exposing how poorly prepared health systems can be for diseases that receive little attention between emergencies. Boston University professor Nancy Sullivan examines that vulnerability in a review published in the New England Journal of Medicine. She argues that the outbreak should serve as a warning: planning cannot focus only on the infectious threats most likely to make headlines. Bundibugyo belongs to the filovirus family, a group of viruses that includes the better-known Ebola virus. Before the current crisis, health officials had recognized only two Bundibugyo outbreaks—in Uganda in 2007 and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2012—but the latest outbreak has already surpassed both in its pace and size. According to the WHO, 695 cases and 138 deaths had been confirmed in the DRC and Uganda as of June 11. Delays weaken outbreak control Stopping a virus like...