WHO Chief Tedros Warns Ebola Outbreak Collides With Conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

The World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that eastern Democratic Republic of Congo faces a "catastrophic collision of disease and conflict" as an Ebola outbreak complicates efforts to contain the virus in Ituri province.

AFP reported the WHO has recorded 10 confirmed and 223 suspected Ebola deaths in the DRC since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, out of more than 1,000 confirmed and suspected cases.

BBC

Devdiscourse said the conflict and the outbreak have reported over 900 suspected cases and more than 200 suspected deaths, with children making up a quarter of the fatalities.

Devdiscourse added that despite donor pledges of $500 million, resource allocation and community attacks have impeded the healthcare response, placing frontline workers at risk.

NPR reported that Vanny Birungi, a volunteer with the Red Cross in eastern Congo, faces a double threat from the rare Bundibugyo type of Ebola and from residents who have pelted her with stones and verbal abuse in Bunia.

NPR described how healthcare facilities were attacked three times in the past week, including when angry young men stormed a hospital treating Ebola patients on Sunday and forced medical staff to evacuate them as gunfire rang out.

NPR quoted Heather Kerr, country director for the International Rescue Committee in Congo, saying, "Trust is almost as important as the health response, because if you get this massive distrust in the communities, they're not going to go to the health centers."

CBC

News.au reported that Tedros warned clashes were "driving mass displacement, pushing exposed contacts into overcrowded camps and severing critical containment corridors" and said, "Frontline workers are risking everything, while attacks on health facilities make tracking cases and their contacts nearly impossible,".

NPR also reported that the outbreak now has over 900 suspected cases and more than 220 suspected deaths, and it quoted Tedros saying, "We are now playing catch-up with a very fast-moving epidemic."

News.au said neighboring Uganda announced it was shutting its border with the DRC with immediate effect and imposing a 21-day quarantine on anyone arriving from the DRC, under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and district surveillance teams.

News.au reported that the WHO said the case fatality rate was under 25 percent and that no vaccine or treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which is behind the DRC's 17th recorded outbreak of the disease.

Devdiscourse said shortages in vital protective equipment severely impact response operations in North Kivu and that foreign aid cuts are blamed for the dire situation, with local and international NGOs struggling to maintain effective infection control measures.

NPR reported that health workers on the ground told the AP they are underprepared and underprotected, and it said a Congolese doctor was reported dead on Sunday in Rwampara, Rubens Dhedgia, coordinator of the Ebola response in the region, told the AP.

NPR added that the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says three volunteers died in Mongbwalu after it believes they handled bodies on March 27 during work unrelated to Ebola, which it said would significantly push back if confirmed.