Ebola spreading 'fast' in DR Congo, warns WHO

The fatal Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading rapidly, the World Health Organization warned, despite accelerating efforts to tackle the virus.

The WHO said it was still racing to catch up with the worsening situation gripping northeastern DRC.

The WHO also said that 75 medics in DR Congo had been infected with Ebola and 17 of them had died since the current outbreak started there.

"The outbreak remains serious" and is "evolving so fast", said Marie-Roseline Belizaire, the WHO Africa emergencies chief.

"However, I have seen a response that is growing stronger every day," she told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Bunia, the capital of the DRC's Ituri province.

The outbreak was declared on 15 May, though transmission had been going undetected for some time.
It is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no vaccine.

Many medics were exposed to the disease before they even knew it was present. Even now, health officials say supplies of the basic gear to protect themselves like gloves and masks ‌are running short.

"It is a really high price that the system, the healthcare system, is paying, because ⁠we don't have enough of healthcare workers in DRC," Dr Belizaire said.

Congo has one of the lowest densities of healthcare workers relative to the population, with only about 11 per 10,000 people, WHO data ⁠shows. Dr Belizaire said China and Uganda were sending medical teams to the ⁠country.

The WHO is giving psychological support to some medics who were too scared to treat patients, having watched many of their colleagues fall ill, she added.

"When they are explaining to you how they live it, how they were infected ... (it) can break your heart," Dr Belizaire said.

There have been 896 confirmed cases so far in the DRC, including 232 confirmed deaths, with 21 new cases in the last 24 hours, according to the latest WHO update.

More than 90% of known cases in the DRC have been in Ituri, a province racked by conflict.

The outbreak has also spread to North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

Dr Belizaire said the epidemic was evolving so quickly that the response was racing to keep pace with the virus, which spreads by close contact and infected bodily fluids.

The number of treatment beds available for Ebola patients had gone from zero to more than 500, she said.

And surveillance teams were now investigating nearly 400 alerts, and were capable of administering more than 2,000 tests a day, she added.

Dr Belizaire also highlighted that efforts to trace contacts of known Ebola cases had ramped up, with 75% of all contacts now being reached.

The WHO has said 95% of contacts must be traced to get on top of the outbreak.

In neighbouring Uganda, the only other country hit, there have been 19 confirmed cases including two deaths, and 10 recovered patients.

Uganda has reported no new cases for 12 days.