Ebola spreading ‘fast’ in DR Congo, warns WHO

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The fatal Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading rapidly, the World Health Organization warned 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 the 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, the outbreak’s epicentre.

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

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

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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 conflict-wracked Ituri.

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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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Belizaire said some people falling ill were staying at home, then going to traditional healers, before finally going to healthcare centres, delaying access to treatment.

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In the DRC, 78 people have recovered after contracting Ebola, which she called a “powerful reminder that a timely diagnosis, access to quality healthcare can save lives”.

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– Health workers killed –

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Belizaire said health workers were hit hard in the early stages of the epidemic.

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So far, 75 healthcare workers have been infected with Ebola, of whom 17 have died, she said.

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“In DRC, as we are seeing a large community outbreak, we cannot say for sure they have been infected in a health facility,” she added.

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“It is a really high price that the healthcare system is paying.”

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Belizaire said a Chinese medical team had arrived in the capital Kinshasa and would be heading to Bunia.

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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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Meanwhile the UN migration agency said it had done more than a million health screenings at borders and on travel corridors as part of surveillance measures aimed at detecting potential cases.

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