Congo’s Ebola outbreak is ‘outpacing’ response, WHO says

Ebola is spreading faster in Democratic Republic of Congo than responders can contain it, the World Health Organisation warned, as suspected deaths climbed above 220 and treatment centers came under attack in the country’s conflict-hit east.

Congo has reported 101 confirmed Ebola infections, 930 suspected cases and 221 suspected deaths, according to health ministry data released late Monday. More than 2,200 contacts have now been identified across 11 affected health zones spanning the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.

“We are now playing catch-up with a very fast-moving epidemic,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday during a virtual briefing of African health ministers. “At the moment, the epidemic is outpacing us.”

The outbreak is increasingly exposing the strain on public health systems in eastern Congo, where armed conflict, mass displacement and distrust of authorities are complicating efforts to isolate patients and trace infections. Health officials have warned that attacks on hospitals and unsafe burials are accelerating transmission.

At least 25 Ebola patients fled treatment facilities in Ituri over the weekend after isolation tents were burned and hospitals were attacked by crowds demanding the release of bodies for burial, Reuters reported, citing local hospital officials. One confirmed Ebola patient remained at large in the community, the news agency said.

The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments. WHO officials are now discussing experimental vaccines and clinical trials involving antiviral drugs and monoclonal antibodies.

American surgeon Peter Stafford — who was infected with Bundibugyo Ebola while working in Congo — was transferred to a high-security isolation unit in Berlin, where his wife and four children are being held in quarantine after exposure, Germany’s Charité hospital said Monday. He was severely weakened but not critically ill, the hospital said.

Uganda has reported seven confirmed Ebola cases linked to the outbreak, including several health workers.

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