There is an Ebola outbreak in Congo, but it is not the classic strain that kills 90% of those infected. It is Bundibugyo, with a mortality rate of 30-50%. It sounds like an improvement, but there is a catch: its infectious period is longer, and neither current vaccines nor treatments work against it. What it gains in mildness it loses in containability.
The technological void in the race against forgotten strains 🧬
The problem is not scientific; it is market-driven. Pharmaceutical companies do not invest in vaccines for rare strains like Bundibugyo because there is no profitability. Without a market promising returns, laboratories prioritize other lines. International agencies only react when the outbreak threatens borders. Thus, the technology to detect and treat this strain remains the same as decades ago: scarce, slow, and dependent on donations that never arrive in time.
Global priorities: where cannon fodder does not trade on the stock market 💰
Meanwhile, the local population continues to die in silence, without laboratories or media coverage. But do not worry: if the virus crosses into Europe or the US, a vaccine will surely appear in record time. It is like car insurance: you only pay when you have an accident, but if the car belongs to someone else, well, you wait. Priorities are set by money, not lives. And here, gentlemen, Bundibugyo is not a rising asset.