Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo Surpasses 1,000 Suspected Cases as Diagnostic and Coordination Efforts Continue

More than 1,000 suspected Ebola cases and at least 246 deaths have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Médecins Sans Frontières said two weeks after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak. MSF deputy director Dr Alan Gonzales stated the situation is deeply alarming and that never before had so many cases been recorded so soon after an outbreak declaration.

He added that his teams are witnessing a response that has not yet caught up to the rapid spread of the epidemic and that nobody knows the true scale and severity of the outbreak.

New suspected cases continue to be reported daily while hundreds of samples remain untested, Gonzales said. He noted that containment efforts and humanitarian aid deliveries face major constraints including border and airport closures. WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Ituri's provincial capital of Bunia on Saturday to assess the response and identify challenges.

He urged communities at the centre of the outbreak to take a larger role in fighting the disease and warned that touching bodies of those who have died from Ebola can spread the virus further. Neighbouring Uganda has reported nine confirmed Ebola cases and one death. The current outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain, which has no proven vaccine and kills about a third of those infected.

In Bunia, passengers arriving at the airport are directed to hand-washing stations. The National Institute for Biomedical Research laboratory in the city now returns Ebola test results within 24 hours, compared with earlier shipments of samples more than 1,500 km to Kinshasa.

Health officials in Brazil are investigating a suspected Ebola case in São Paulo state involving a 37-year-old man who recently returned from DR Congo.

Ebola viruses normally infect animals such as fruit bats, and human outbreaks can begin when people eat or handle infected animals. The virus spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids including blood, vomit, diarrhoea, saliva, urine, semen and sweat, and can also be transmitted by touching contaminated objects such as needles, bedding or clothing.

Patients require isolation in hospital, with treatment focused on managing symptoms such as breathing support and intravenous fluids to prevent dehydration, according to the UK's National Health Service.

Ongoing conflict in DR Congo continues to hamper the response, the WHO has stated.