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WHO warns as cases surge
The World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Saturday to urge local communities to lead the fight against a fast-spreading Ebola outbreak.
Congolese authorities said the number of confirmed cases in DRC reached 225 on Friday, nearly double the figure of 121 reported two days earlier, while the WHO has declared the outbreak a global health emergency.
Tedros told reporters, "The international community is involved under the leadership of the government of DRC, and at the same time, community ownership is important; that’s why we’re here to discuss with the community".
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare and severe form of Ebola for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called it one of the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreaks ever recorded.
Al Jazeera’s Alain Uaykani reported from Goma that DRC’s health ministry expanded testing, contact tracing and monitoring, uncovering infections that might otherwise go unrecorded.
Community trust and travel limits
Speaking to reporters, Tedros said he and other health officials are "not here to tell people what to do. We are here to listen," and he linked community ownership to bringing the outbreak to an end.
He added, "Certain practices, including touching the bodies of those who have died from Ebola, can spread the virus further," while the WHO has cautioned that the death rate could reach 30 to 50 percent.
The WHO chief also urged countries that have imposed travel restrictions or border closures to reconsider such steps, saying they could discourage reporting and transparency essential to controlling the outbreak.
The Times of India reported that Tedros made the appeal on Saturday after arriving in Bunia, and quoted him saying, "You’re not alone in this. We’re here, we’re with you, and we will see this through together."
Euronews said the WHO warned that the true reach of the outbreak in the DRC is likely much wider, citing limited capacity to conduct laboratory tests to confirm cases and reporting at least 1,077 suspected cases and 246 deaths.
Funding, conflict, and containment
The response is being shaped by both funding gaps and insecurity, with Africa CDC saying global funding for the response has more than halved, from $498m to $219m, even as the European Union sent medical supplies to Ituri and the United States pledged more than $112m.
Al Jazeera reported that health teams in Ituri have come under attack from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group linked to ISIL (ISIS), and from local ethnic militias, while anger over strict rules for handling victims’ bodies has fueled at least three attacks on health centres.
The WHO said containment relies on surveillance, contact tracing, isolation, infection prevention and safe burial practices, and it is working with both DRC and Uganda to assess experimental drugs and a candidate vaccine.
The Guardian reported that Anaïs Legand said the revised death rate estimate is between 30% and 50%, and that Tedros told reporters, "That thing can be stopped," while also saying the WHO did not support travel bans because they "don’t help much".
Euronews said Uganda ordered a 21-day quarantine for anyone arriving from the DRC, and it quoted Dorcas Mapenzi at the Kingonze camp saying, "If Ebola comes, we'll be wiped out as we're packed like sardines," as nearly a million of the displaced are in Ituri province.
