More than 1,100 people were suspected of having contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring Uganda, the head of the African Union’s health agency said on Sunday in a commentary for the Financial Times.
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention director general Jean Kaseya said there were 263 confirmed cases in both countries as of Saturday, with 43 confirmed deaths.
More than 1,100 suspected cases were still being investigated, he wrote in the editorial. On Thursday, the Africa CDC said there had been 246 suspected deaths from the virus.
“We must move at the speed of the epidemic,” added Kaseya, criticising Africa’s dependence on outside financial support.
The health ministers of the DR Congo, Uganda and South Sudan recently adopted a $319-million response plan to the outbreak.
