WHO warns of 'catastrophic collision' between Ebola and Congo conflict
by Joe Fisher · UPIMay 27 (UPI) -- The World Health Organization said Wednesday that aid workers are struggling to respond to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to ongoing conflict in the region.
At least 220 people are suspected to have died from the Ebola outbreak in the Ituri Province of the DRC. Aid workers are facing challenges traveling in the region to deliver support as fighting continues between the Congolese military and rebel groups.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said the eastern DRC is facing a "catastrophic collision of disease and conflict" as the outbreak outpaces the aid response.
"We cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling," Ghebreyesus said in a statement. "We urge all warring parties to agree to an immediate cease-fire to contain this outbreak. To allow us safe and sustained access for medical teams. We plea to [prioritize] human survival above everything else."
Ghebreyesus said the Ebola Bundibugyo virus does not have an approved vaccine or treatment. Meanwhile, fighting in the eastern DRC has displaced many Congolese people, leading to overcrowding with people who have potentially been exposed to the virus.
"Frontline workers are risking everything, while attacks on health facilities make tracking cases and their contacts nearly impossible," he said.
Ghebreyesus is scheduled to visit the DRC on Wednesday as the WHO attempts to increase its efforts to contain the outbreak and treat those exposed.
The Ituri province is the epicenter of the current outbreak, the 16th official outbreak in the nation since the virus was discovered in 1976. The province has been under military rule since 2021.
The United States and Canada are among countries to issue travel bans on the DRC, as well as neighboring South Sudan and Uganda, in response to the outbreak.
While 220 deaths are suspected from the Ebola virus in this outbreak, only 17 have been confirmed by lab tests. An estimated 3,600 people are believed to have been in contact with people who have been infected. DRC health professionals are attempting to identify those who have come in contact with the virus.
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