Ebola Cases in DR Congo Exceed 1,000 Two Weeks After Outbreak Declared

The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières has described the spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo as deeply alarming two weeks after the outbreak was declared. MSF Deputy Director Dr Alan Gonzales stated that the number of cases recorded so soon after declaration is higher than in any previous Ebola outbreak.

He added that response efforts have not kept pace with the epidemic's speed and that hundreds of samples remain untested.

The head of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, arrived in the eastern province of Ituri on Saturday to assess containment measures. He urged local communities to increase their role in controlling the disease and noted that certain funeral practices can spread the virus.

Tedros said his team is examining operational challenges and that communities understand both the problems and potential solutions. Daily life in the provincial capital Bunia continues largely as normal, with handwashing stations at the airport and public health messages broadcast in local languages and French.

Samples from suspected patients are now processed at the National Institute for Biomedical Research laboratory in Bunia, with results available within 24 hours. Previously, samples were sent more than 1,500 km to Kinshasa, causing delays that health workers said could allow further spread.

The current outbreak involves a rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola that has no proven vaccine and kills about one-third of those infected. The virus spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids or contaminated objects.