Ebola Cases, Deaths Rise in DRC as WHO Accelerates International Response

The World Health Organization said the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading faster than response teams can contain it. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an African Union virtual meeting on Monday that medical teams are “playing catch-up” after delayed case detection.

He announced plans to travel to the DRC on Tuesday with Chikwe Ihekweazu, executive director of WHO’s health emergencies programme.

Suspected infections in the DRC have passed 900, with confirmed cases exceeding 100 in Ituri province. The WHO raised its risk assessment for Congo from “high” to “very high” while keeping the global spread risk low. Uganda has recorded seven confirmed cases, all linked to the DRC outbreak.

Two additional cases were announced Monday, both involving Ugandan health workers at a private facility in Kampala.

Residents attacked Mongbwalu General Hospital on Saturday and Sunday. Dr Richard Lokodu, the facility’s medical director, told Reuters that unidentified individuals burned Médecins Sans Frontières tents, allowing 18 suspected patients to flee. A similar incident occurred Thursday in Rwampara near Bunia when a crowd set fire to a treatment centre after authorities refused to release a body for traditional burial.

The Congolese government has banned funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people in the affected region.

The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, which has no approved vaccine or treatment. Oxford University researchers are developing a candidate that could enter clinical trials within two to three months, according to a WHO spokesperson. Tedros declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern earlier this month after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths were reported.

““We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us.”