Sanitation workers spray disinfectant at a market in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Saturday as authorities step up efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak. MOSES SAWASAWA/AP
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a coordinated response with African countries to contain the worsening Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo amid growing fears that misinformation, insecurity and porous borders could accelerate the spread of the deadly virus.
Officials in DR Congo updated the death toll to 204 late on Saturday, hours after the Red Cross said three volunteers in the country had died and Uganda confirmed three new Ebola cases.
Jean Kaseya, director-general of Africa CDC, said on Saturday that 10 countries are at risk of the virus spreading, listing Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.
The announcement followed a meeting in Uganda's capital Kampala that brought together health ministers and senior officials from Uganda, DR Congo and South Sudan alongside United Nations agencies and international partners to harmonize preparedness, surveillance and emergency response efforts under the "one team, one plan, one budget and one implementation" model.
