Suspected Ebola cases triple in a week as WHO warns of rapid spread in DRC | Global development
The World Health Organization said on Friday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo poses a “very high” risk to the country, revising its threat assessment upwards.
WHO leaders said the outbreak was spreading rapidly, with about 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, a number that has increased since 246 cases and 65 deaths were first reported a week ago.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the situation was “extremely worrying”.
On Thursday, tents and medical supplies outside a hospital in Rwampara, Ituri province, were set on fire as medics tried to set up an Ebola treatment centre. The crowd was reportedly angry because they were not allowed to collect the body of a local man who died in hospital. Bodies of Ebola patients must be buried according to strict infection control protocols to prevent further spread.
Tedros warned that “serious distrust of external authorities among local populations” was causing problems in responding to the epidemic.
“Building trust in affected communities is critical to a successful response and is one of our highest priorities,” Tedros said.
WHO’s representative in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dr. Mother Ancia said the incident in Rwampara would “significantly compromise” the response operation there.
The hacked treatment center was designed to separate Ebola patients from others being treated at the same hospital. Ancia said he is hopeful the system can be back up and running within 24 hours.
The outbreak was caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no vaccine or treatment yet. Most cases have been reported in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a small number of cases reported elsewhere in the country and two cases in neighboring Uganda.
Officials said rising case numbers could be a “good sign,” paradoxically indicative of better detection. The slight decrease in the number of positive samples indicates that more people with potential symptoms are being recruited.
However, Ancia said: “We are running from behind, we are not under control yet.”
But he was confident that the response would be successful.
“I can guarantee you that together we will manage to overcome this epidemic as quickly as possible,” he said.
While WHO upgraded its risk assessment for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it maintained its previous assessment of high risk at the regional level and low risk at the global level.
Representatives of humanitarian organizations working in Ituri said they did not yet have enough resources to mount an adequate response.
Country manager of Care International in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dr. Amadou Bocoum said last year’s aid cuts meant “the system could not function properly due to a lack of equipment”, while low staffing levels made labor-intensive tasks such as reporting cases and contact tracing more difficult.
Julie Drouet, country director of Action Against Hunger, said: “Everyone is working to get it in place as soon as possible… the response on the ground but it’s not quite ready yet. It’s not tied to the emergency we have in Congo at the moment.”
A WHO press briefing also featured scientists antiviral drug, obeldesivirThey were working to set up trials in affected areas that could prevent contact with Bundibugyo cases developing the disease.
