Health officials say the outbreak has resulted in dozens of confirmed cases and hundreds of suspected infections as aid groups race to contain the virus.
BUNYA, Democratic Republic of Congo — The risk of global spread of Ebola in Congo and Uganda is high at the national and regional levels but low at the global level, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
The head of the WHO team in Congo said that as assistance is stepped up to curb the spread of the epidemic, which has resulted in 134 suspected deaths, the epidemic may continue for at least two months.
World Health Organization declares Ebola outbreak public health emergency It has attracted international attention and requires a coordinated response. On Tuesday, it expressed concern about the “scale and speed” of the outbreak.
Concerned residents report rising prices for masks, sanitizer Rare Ebola virus outbreakThe virus, known as Bundibugyo virus, went undetected for weeks after the first known death, and authorities tested negative for a more common virus, health experts and aid workers said. There are currently no approved drugs or vaccines against Bundibugyo virus.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that 51 cases have been confirmed so far in the northern Congolese provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, and two cases have been confirmed in Uganda. In addition, there are nearly 600 suspected cases and suspected deaths, he said.
“We know the scale of the outbreak is much larger,” he said. “We expect these numbers to continue to increase.”
Delay detection
Congo expects shipments of experimental vaccines against different types of Ebola developed by Oxford University researchers from the United States and Britain, Jean-Jacques Muyembe, a virus expert at the National Institute of Biomedical Research, told reporters on Tuesday.
“We’re going to vaccinate and see who gets the disease,” he said.
Health experts say delays in testing for the virus, large movements of people in affected areas and pre-existing humanitarian crises have complicated the response. Parts of eastern Congo are in the hands of armed rebels, hampering the delivery of aid.
Congo said its first patient died from the virus in Bunia on April 24, but it was confirmed weeks later. The bodies were returned to the Mongbwalu Health District, a heavily populated mining area.
“This has led to an escalation of the Ebola epidemic,” said Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba.
Dr. Anne Ancia, head of the World Health Organization’s team in Congo, said authorities still had not identified “patient zero.” There is still a long road ahead, she said, adding that funding cuts have “clearly adverse effects on humanitarian actors”.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that the Trump administration would be “committed” to the Ebola response, prioritizing funding for 50 emergency clinics in affected areas. The United States has contributed $13 million to the project so far, and Rubio said more funds will be provided.
Urgent need for more resources
In Bunia, the site of the first known death, schools and churches remained open Wednesday and some residents wore masks on the streets. Residents say masks are becoming harder to find and some disinfectants that previously cost 2,500 Congolese francs now cost as much as 10,000 francs ($4.40).
“It’s really sad and painful because we’ve already gone through a security crisis and now Ebola is here,” said Justin Ndasi, a Bunia resident. “We have to protect ourselves to avoid this epidemic.”
Trish Newport, emergency program manager at the aid group Doctors Without Borders, said her team in Bunia discovered suspected cases over the weekend at Salama Hospital, which does not have an isolation ward. They tried without success to house them in another medical facility in Bunia.
“The team visited other health facilities to see if they were conducting quarantines,” she said. “Every medical facility they called said, ‘We’re flooded with suspected cases. We don’t have any room.’ That gives you a glimpse of how crazy it is right now.”
In Mumbwalu, the town at the center of the current outbreak, the border with Uganda remains open and gold mining continues, local civil society leader Chérubin Kuku Ndilawa said.
“There was no panic; people continued with their normal lives, but they also started spreading the news,” Ndirawa said.
Ndirawa said efforts to control the outbreak have been hampered by a lack of hand-washing stations in public areas.
Dr. Didier Pay, former director of Mongbwalu General Hospital, said his clinic was treating about 30 Ebola patients. He said a student at a local medical technology college died on Wednesday morning.
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