DR Congo Ebola Outbreak Cases Potentially Doubled to 1,000, WHO Doctor Warns
A World Health Organisation (WHO) representative has warned that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), which has officially claimed 131 lives, may be disseminating faster than initial assessments suggested. Dr Anne Ancia stated that increased investigation reveals wider spread across various areas.
As of Tuesday, over 513 suspected cases had been recorded in DR Congo, alongside one fatality in neighbouring Uganda. However, analysis from the London-based MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, released on Monday, indicated “substantial” under-detection, not ruling out over 1,000 cases already.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who declared the outbreak an international emergency last week, expressed “deep concern about the scale and speed of the epidemic”. There are fears the outbreak was ongoing for weeks before its detection on 24 April.
Dr Ancia highlighted that DR Congo's Ituri province, the epicentre, is a “very unsecured area with lots of movement of population”, complicating efforts to investigate and contain the disease. She noted, “The more we are investigating this outbreak, the more we realise that it has already disseminated at least a little bit across border and also in other provinces.” The outbreak has reached South Kivu province, long affected by a humanitarian crisis.
A case has also been confirmed in Goma, eastern DR Congo's largest city, home to approximately 850,000 people and under the control of Rwandan-backed rebels. High levels of insecurity across several provinces facilitate frequent population movement, exacerbating viral transmission risks.
Several African nations are implementing precautions, including enhanced border screenings and preparing health facilities. Rwanda has also closed its borders with DR Congo. An American citizen, believed to be missionary group doctor Peter Stafford, is being evacuated from DR Congo after exhibiting symptoms. Germany's health ministry confirmed a US citizen was being transported to the country for treatment, while the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is coordinating the evacuation of at least six other exposed Americans.
The current Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is rare, having only caused two prior outbreaks, each killing approximately a third of those infected. The 2014-2016 West African Ebola outbreak, caused by the Zaire strain for which an approved vaccine exists, infected over 28,600 people and resulted in 11,325 deaths across multiple countries.
