WHO's Tedros visits DR Congo as Ebola outbreak accelerates
The head of the World Health Organization warned that "we must urgently and massively scale up all our efforts" against the latest Ebola outbreak, with new cases doubling in some hotspots in the past week alone.
On Wednesday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus visited Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to address the rapidly accelerating Ebola outbreak in the eastern part of the country. The 17th Ebola outbreak in DRC's history is the fastest-spreading and second-largest on record, according to WHO.
Tedros warned that the outbreak was spreading faster than their response efforts, emphasizing the urgent need to scale up all response measures across all affected areas. He also highlighted the challenges faced in reaching every affected community, despite insecurity and displacement, ensuring proper protection and support for health workers, and accelerating access to care, surveillance, and safe burials.
As of Monday, the DRC's Ministry of Health had confirmed 3,874 cases, including 1,751 deaths. Most of the cases, around 90%, have been recorded in the eastern province of Ituri, bordering Uganda. Tedros stressed the importance of involving communities in the response, as their trust, leadership, and partnership are crucial for stopping the outbreak.
Written by urgent.news from Deutsche Welle Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
