DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Congo will open three treatment centers for the Ebola virus in the eastern Ituri province following an outbreak of a variant that has no approved therapeutics or vaccines, as the World Health Organization sent a team of experts and supplies to help combat the spread of the disease.
READ MORE: What to know about the Ebola outbreak that has grown into a global health emergency
"We know that the hospitals are already under stress because of the patients," Samuel Roger Kamba, the Congolese health minister, said during a visit to Bunia, Ituri's capital and largest city, on Sunday. "But we are preparing to have treatment centers at all three sites in order to be able to expand our capabilities."
The WHO declared the Ebola disease outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths in Congo and two in neighboring Uganda. Although the outbreak is centered in Congo's Ituri, cases have been reported in the capital, Kinshasa, and in Goma, the largest city in the country's east.
The international health organization warned Monday that the virus is affecting people in conflict-affected areas in Congo, posing an additional risk to health workers.
