Jake Dunning

@MarionKoopmans Agree. I experienced similar during 2014-16 Ebola: misinformation, but also disinformation campaigns. I think COVID showed that mis- & disinformation can happen in any society, regardless of GDP, education, belief systems etc. Digital technologies seem to be powerful enablers.

Misinformation: very easy to disseminate, very difficult to counter. In a lethal epidemic. Just cannot get my head around why anyone would do this

@MarionKoopmans @sebastian_paul Thanks for all you have done & continue to do on Ebola & filoviruses, Marion, whether that's your scientific research, outbreak preparedness, mobile labs, technical guidelines, assays, R&D Blueprint, WHO Emergency Committee, & One Health work (to name a few) Those who know, know.

@sebastian_paul I do, with diagnostic advise who.int/publications/i…

Another way of discouraging americans to be involved in aid work: prohibiting from travelling home. In the west africa ebola outbreak, assuring essential medical aid and evacuation was an important precondition that was arranged for every volunteer in Europe

Congratulations to Drs. Gavin Harris (@EmoryUniversity), Anabel Sinchi (Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Virales Humanas), James Lawler (@unmc), and Maria Frank (@JohnsHopkins) on this important contribution to special pathogen preparedness!

The EBO-PEP clinical trial has officially launched in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda to evaluate whether the antiviral obeldesivir can prevent Bundibugyo Ebola after high-risk exposure. Led by INRB, ANRS MIE/Inserm & ALIMA (@ALIMAong), this study could protect frontline workers, families & communities. If successful, post-exposure prophylaxis could provide an important new tool to protect health workers, families and communities during future Ebola outbreaks. Africa CDC is proud to support this landmark initiative through USD 1 million in direct financing, scientific coordination and technical expertise, while helping mobilise an additional USD 5 million in Member State financing from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa. Read more: ow.ly/QmzC50Znnll #ClinicalResearch #HealthSecurity #AfricaResponds #AfricaReady

Every breakthrough begins with hope. EBO-PEP—the first clinical trial evaluating post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) with obeldesivir for #Ebola disease to Bundibugyo virus is launched. If effective among high-risk contacts after exposure, this could mark a major step forward in Ebola BVD prevention. We thank @inrb_kinshasa, @agenceANRS and ALIMA for their leadership and partnership on this important trial. @WHO will continue to support. ebo-pep.com/bundibugyo-ebo…

Fantastic news! Fingers crossed for a successful phase 1 trial. This represents great progress in rapid research for outbreaks (plus a lot of hard work, lessons learned, & always seeking to improve). Well done to @DrKatPollock & the team in Oxford for quietly getting on with it!

“112 healthcare workers in DRC have gotten infected, and 32 have died. ‘We’re still losing our healthcare workers in DRC’” cidrap.umn.edu/ebola/ebola-ou…

@andyburnham The problem with criticising Israel in great detail, but not addressing Hamas, Iran & other groups determined to wipe out Israel & its mostly Jewish population, is that it may suggest bias and wilful ignorance. What can the UK do to ensure these groups cannot achieve their aims?

Labour’s initial response to the treatment of Gaza caused huge hurt. We got it wrong and I am sorry for that.

Is it getting better or worse? For Ebola outbreaks, it can be difficult to know from case counts alone. Rising counts could mean better detection & whatever is detected today reflects transmission - & control efforts - from weeks earlier There are 2 helpful metrics that are readily knowable from case intakes but not routinely reported: (1) % of cases from known chains - indicates how well we are finding all transmission (2) Symptom-to-isolation time - speed is often overlooked but transmission could be collapsed if just ~60% of cases were isolated within a day We should start reporting & using these 2 measures in real-time to gauge & steer response thelancet.com/journals/lance…

This is a huge achievement. It's very much down to collective efforts of a large international team, and particularly those in the DRC, but the perseverance and determination of @AmandaRojek at @PSIOxford in making PARTNERS a reality should also be acknowledged. Well done, all!

A good read nature.com/articles/s4422…

But, of course, 'exported cases' of Ebola can occur occasionally, which is why many countries, including France, have high level isolation units to provide safe, high quality care. BBC News - France confirms first Ebola case bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

#Ebola update: more than 1000 confirmed cases have been reported in #DRC, including 254 deaths. 100 patients have recovered so far, which shows that for many, the virus can be stopped with timely health care. In the past month, @WHO, @AfricaCDC and partners have supported @MinSanteRDC to increase the number of Ebola Treatment Centres and lab and surveillance capacities, to train more health workers on clinical care and infection prevention and control, and to improve the understanding and involvement of communities. But much more is needed: more treatment centres, more trained health and care workers, more testing, more teams from within communities supporting communities. We need sustained and safe access to reach all affected people. We need continued solidarity from international community to end this outbreak. And ultimately, we need peace for the people of DRC.

Difficult to know what the trajectory will be for the months to come, but this growth rate should be of significant concern to all and trigger calls for much stronger efforts to reduce transmission in the DRC. I am sure hindsight will favour overreaction more than underreaction.

🤣 You know its true...

This is @WHO #ProudToBeWHO @WHOAFRO @Chikwe_I @DrTedros @DrAbdiMahamud afro.who.int/countries/demo…

Confirming what we already know, but nicely presented & a reminder that the Ebola burden is in African countries where outbreaks occur; global efforts to prevent, detect & respond effectively to outbreaks must remain focussed on assisting those countries. eurosurveillance.org/content/10.280…

🚨 NEW: CEPI has launched an additional Call for Proposals in response to the current Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) outbreak in the DRC and Uganda to support critical, time-sensitive activities that directly inform and support vaccine R&D decision-making. Two workstreams are in scope: 🔵 Epidemiology, modelling and analytics 🔵 Immunological and clinical assessment of potential cross-reactive antibodies induced by existing Ebola vaccines. The Call is open to global applicants; special consideration will be given to proposals from, or partnering with, groups based in Africa. ➡️ Read the full text to find out more, including eligibility criteria and how to apply via the CEPI Portal: cepi.my.site.com/calls-for-prop… Deadline: 22 June 2026. This Call is complementary to CEPI’s other Call for Proposals, which is seeking to urgently accelerate the development of BDBV vaccine candidates. Please consider sharing among your networks.