Ebola spreading fast in DR Congo, says WHO

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The fatal Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading rapidly, the World Health Organisation warned on Friday, despite accelerating efforts to tackle the virus.

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The WHO said it was still racing to catch up with the worsening situation gripping northeastern DRC.

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“The outbreak remains serious” and is “evolving so fast”, said Marie-Roseline Belizaire, the WHO Africa emergencies chief.

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“However, I have seen a response that is growing stronger every day,” she told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Bunia, the capital of the DRC’s Ituri province.

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The outbreak was declared on May 15, though transmission had been going undetected for some time.

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It is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no vaccine.

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There have been 896 confirmed cases so far in the DRC, including 232 confirmed deaths, with 21 new cases in the last 24 hours, according to the latest WHO update.

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More than 90 percent of known cases in the DRC have been in Ituri, a province racked by conflict.

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The outbreak has also spread to North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

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Belizaire said the epidemic was evolving so quickly that the response was racing to keep pace with the virus, which spreads by close contact and infected bodily fluids.

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The number of treatment beds available for Ebola patients had gone from zero to more than 500, she said.

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And surveillance teams were now investigating nearly 400 alerts, and were capable of administering more than 2,000 tests a day, she added.

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Belizaire also highlighted that efforts to trace contacts of known Ebola cases had ramped up, with 75 percent of all contacts now being reached.

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The WHO has said 95 percent of contacts must be traced to get on top of the outbreak.

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In neighbouring Uganda, the only other country hit, there have been 19 confirmed cases including two deaths, and 10 recovered patients.

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Uganda has reported no new cases for 12 days.

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AFP

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