The Ebola outbreak affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo “remains out of control,” warned the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tendros Adanom Gebresus, sounding the alarm about a high risk of international spread.
“Three months ago, I declared the outbreak of the Budibugyo strain of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a public health emergency of international concern. Since then, the outbreak has spread rapidly, and the risk of further national and international spread remains high,” said the WHO Director-General at the start of the Emergency Committee meeting on Ebola.
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The Ebola outbreak affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the deadliest in the country’s history, with more than 2,300 recorded deaths, according to the latest figures released Tuesday by the country’s authorities.
“Nearly 5,000 people have been infected and more than 2,300 have died across six provinces and 55 health zones. Let’s be honest: the epidemic remains out of control,” he said.
On May 15, after a delay of several weeks, the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared the country’s 17th Ebola outbreak in northern and eastern regions where the government has a weak presence, health infrastructure is lacking, and the response has been overwhelmed by the surge in cases.
This is the second time the WHO Emergency Committee has met since the Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on May 17, the WHO’s second-highest alert level.
The WHO does not yet know when the Committee will publish its recommendations. It seems unlikely that the experts will recommend lifting the alert. However, they could issue new recommendations and adjust the alert levels.
For now, the WHO considers the public health risk level to be “very high” for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, “high” for Uganda and other countries bordering the DRC, and “low” for the rest of Africa and the world.
The 2018–2020 outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, previously considered the deadliest in the country’s history, claimed the lives of 2,299 people out of a total of 3,381 laboratory-confirmed cases, according to data from the World Health Organization, based on figures from the DRC authorities.
Furthermore, in three months, seven times as many cases and five times as many deaths were recorded in the DRC than during the first three months of the largest Ebola epidemic in history, which struck West Africa in 2014, according to the African Union’s health agency (Africa CDC).
The current outbreak in the DRC is now “the second-largest” Ebola outbreak “ever recorded and is spreading faster than any previous one,” said the WHO director-general. “It is fueled by insecurity, population displacement, and the large-scale movement of people along roads, waterways, and mine access routes,” he explained.
Ebola, which is transmitted through bodily fluids and causes hemorrhagic fever, has claimed the lives of at least 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.
There is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for Budibugyo. Several initiatives are currently under development.
Source: CNA
