The World Health Organization warned Wednesday that an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is rapidly accelerating, with officials cautioning that it could surpass the devastating West African outbreak a decade ago.The WHO said the outbreak in eastern Congo has killed more than 2,000 people among more than 4,300 reported cases. Officials said the outbreak, initially declared on May 15, began months earlier in February, according to genetic sequencing.“At its current pace, it’s on track to eclipse the West African Ebola outbreak of 2014 to 2016,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters Wednesday. That outbreak killed more than 11,000 people and spread across seven countries, underscoring the potential for Ebola to become an international crisis without early intervention.
The virus circulating in Congo is a genetically distinct variant of the rare Bundibugyo ebolavirus. The outbreak is currently doubling in size roughly every 20 days, according to Tom Fletcher, the U.N.’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.“Ebola epidemic is doubling every 20 days — fastest in history,” Fletcher said.Credit: Rena Rowe | Washington Examiner
