Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Case Report
Abstract: Clinical data on Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) infection are limited, and no approved virus-specific treatment exists. Here we describe the case of a previously healthy 39-year-old healthcare worker who acquired BDBV infection while working in Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and was medically evacuated to Germany. He received MBP134, an investigational combination of two monoclonal antibodies, under a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency Investigational New Drug (eIND) authorization, together with remdesivir and supportive care. Viral RNA concentrations were highest in oropharyngeal swabs and plasma and became undetectable in blood, throat swabs, urine and stool by day 13 after symptom onset and in semen by day 25. The patient's serum demonstrated neutralizing activity against the current BDBV outbreak strain and other orthoebolaviruses. We detected BDBV-induced antibody responses not attributable to MBP134 or prior vaccination, providing evidence of endogenous humoral immunity after combined antiviral treatment. The patient recovered and was discharged on day 22 after symptom onset. This case report provides detailed insights into the clinical course, virologic dynamics and immune responses in BDBV infection during combined antiviral treatment; larger clinical studies are needed to assess the efficacy and clinical utility of these therapeutic approaches.
Source: Nature Medicine
Authors: Alexander Uhrig, Frieder Pfäfflin, Pinkus Tober-Lau, Victor M. Corman, Miriam S. Stegemann, Paulina Tarnow, Monika Rottstegge, Katrin Moira Heim, Felix Bremer, Thomas Cronen, Tilman Lingscheid, Han Ngoc Le, Dominik Geus, Mary J. Choi, William A. Fischer, Wesley R. Campbell, Aneesh K. Mehta, Marylyn M. Addo, Placide Mbala-Kingebeni, David Hillus, Christian Gaebler, Stephan Becker, Janine Michel, Andreas Nitsche, Andreas Kurth, Martin Witzenrath, Till D. Best, Stephan Günther, Lisa Oestereich, Manuel Koch, Matthias Zehner, Henning Gruell, Christian Drosten, Florian Klein, Charité Ebola Task Force, Joram Arzig, Lara Bardtke, Clara Bergmann, Andreas Binke, Tobias Bleicker, Markus Brack, Katharina Breuer, Sophia Brumhard, Carolin Burschberg, Martin Büttner, Nilgün Cetrefli, Anika Cleemann, Jan Doehn, Daniel Dyba, Martin Eicher, Jana Faller, Paul Feldmann, Susanne Fieberg, Frieder Gabriel, Louise Götze, Julia Gradwohl, Chris Grätz, Matthias Gröschel, Tamara Hartmann, Kim Heimsch, Wolfgang Hinkeldey, Julius Hoffmann, Johanna Hopp, Johanna Horn, Mareen Höwler, Silvija Ilic, Jennifer Janssen, Stefanie Jentzsch, Terence C. Jones, Jannina Kadereit, Jonas Kerbaum, Katharina Klement, Thomas Klotzkowski, Christoph Knoch, Sören Kolbe, Anett Kolizius, Helene Kriedemann, Tassilo Kruis, Fiona Lawrenz, Julia Lichtblau, Rebecca Lorenz, Felix Machleidt, Tiina Mauno, Shima Mecklenbräuker, Julia Melchert, Nikolai Menner, Gina Maria Michalsky, Marcel A. Müller, Miriam Müller, Holger Müller-Redetzky, Joanna Muszynska, Viola Marie Nagata, Nino Neumann, Anne Österby, Michela Perotti, Lennart Pfannkuch, Moritz Pfeiffer, Ursula Pfitzner, Brar Piening, Peter Radünzel, Sibylle Reinsch, Julia Riedmann, Stephanie Rohrbach, Laura Rose, Violeta Sanchez Alvarez, Bricel Selene Santiago Quintana, Sylvia Schaber, Renate Schaffernicht, Viktoria Schenkel, Melanie Schmele, Marie L. Schmidt, Birgit Schnödewind, Maike Schröder, Saskia Schulz, Josua Sellmaier, Rincy Simon, André Solarek, Benjamin Stadtmann, Clara Steinacker, Ansgar Stenzel, Yasmin Stoppe, Montana Louis Tatum, Talitha Veith, Tobias Wagelöhner, Ulrich Wagner, Michael Weber, Nadine Weeverink, Friedrich Welz, Dana Wolff, Ellen Wrzolek, Nikolai W. Zaki, Desiree Zeegers-Bachmann, Thomas Zoller, Florian Kurth, Leif Erik Sander
Institutions: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, German Center for Infection Research, University of Cologne, University Hospital Cologne, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Public Health Service, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States Department of State, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Emory University, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, University of Kinshasa, National Institute of Biomedical Research, Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Philipps University of Marburg, Robert Koch Institute, German Center for Lung Research, Weill Cornell Medicine, Centre de Recherche Médicales de Lambaréné, Bundeswehr
Language: English
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $12,690
OpenAlex ID: W7204078026