Two weeks after the declaration of the epidemic, MSF says that such a rapid increase in the number of cases has never been recorded before.
At the same time, the leader of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in the most affected province of Ituri to oversee efforts to combat the virus, writes the BBC.
DR Congo currently has more than 1,000 suspected Ebola cases and at least 246 deaths, while Uganda has reported nine confirmed cases and one death. “Two weeks after the declaration of the Ebola epidemic in the province of Ituri, the situation is deeply worrying,” MSF deputy director Dr. Alan Gonzales, Index reports.
“Never before has an Ebola outbreak seen so many cases so soon after being declared,” Gonzalez said. He emphasized that his teams on the ground “are witnessing a response that still fails to catch up with the rapid spread of the epidemic.”
“The reality today is that no one knows the real scale and seriousness of this epidemic. New suspected cases are reported every day, and hundreds of samples remain untested,” he warned. Gonzalez added that efforts to contain the virus and the delivery of humanitarian aid were being slowed by “major restrictions,” including the closure of borders and airports. The WHO has also repeatedly warned that the ongoing conflicts in DR Congo are significantly hindering the fight against the epidemic.
After arriving in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, Tedros said on Saturday that he and his team were in DR Congo “to see how the response to the outbreak is going and if there are challenges that I can help with”. He called on the communities at the center of the epidemic to take a greater role in fighting the disease, saying “they best understand the problems and know the solution”.
Tedros also said he understood the importance of honoring the dead at funerals, but warned that it was dangerous at the moment.
“Certain practices, including touching the bodies of those who have died of Ebola, can further spread the virus. As we mourn those we have lost, we must do everything we can to avoid losing someone else and entering a vicious cycle of mourning,” he said.
In Bunia, everyday life seems to go on unchanged. People still move, trade and carry out normal activities. However, upon arrival at the city airport, passengers are directed to stations where they are required to wash their hands with soap and water.
Public health advisories are posted in several places at the airport, and information is also broadcast on radio and television, in local languages and in French, the official language of the DR Congo. One of the WHO chief’s first stops was the laboratory of the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Bunia, where samples from suspected Ebola patients are tested.
Local health officials say the facility can now deliver results within 24 hours, helping doctors quickly identify an infection and begin treatment. Until recently, samples had to be transported more than 1,500 kilometers to the capital Kinshasa, causing delays that health workers feared could cost lives and allow the virus to spread further.
The current outbreak is caused by a rare strain of Ebola known as Bundibugyo, for which there is no proven vaccine, and which kills about a third of those infected. Ebola viruses usually infect animals, most commonly fruit bats, but human outbreaks can sometimes start when people eat or handle infected animals.
Ebola is spread through direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids, including blood, vomit, diarrhea, saliva, urine, semen, and sweat. It can also be transmitted by touching contaminated objects such as needles, bedding or clothing.
(Vijesti.ba)
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