Ebola outbreak in DR Congo collides with conflict and hunger, WHO warns
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Ebola Bundibugyo virus outbreak in Ituri province was spreading in an environment where insecurity, attacks on health facilities and population movements were making it “nearly impossible” to trace contacts and isolate cases.“We cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling,” he said.The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, first identified in Uganda in 2007, has no approved vaccine or treatment.DRC has reported nearly 1,000 suspected Ebola cases and more than 220 suspected deaths, according to figures from health agencies and partners, although only one death has been laboratory confirmed. In neighbouring Uganda, health authorities have reported seven confirmed cases linked to the outbreak, including two healthcare workers and one confirmed death.Rapidly evolving outbreakWHO warned that the outbreak was continuing to spread geographically, with evidence of ongoing cross-border transmission.The outbreak is centred in Ituri province but has now spread across 11 health zones, with cases also reported in North Kivu – including in Butembo and Goma – and in South Kivu, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).Health officials say the virus is spreading through family clusters and health facilities, with infections linked to caregiving, family gatherings and unsafe funeral practices.
