Congo Ebola outbreak outpacing response, says WHO chief

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has declared that the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak is spreading faster than the response efforts, during a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). Nearly three months into the outbreak, new cases are doubling in some areas, and the WHO is urging for a massive scaling up of all response efforts.

As of Monday, the outbreak has resulted in 3,874 confirmed cases and 1,751 deaths. In the Ituri province, the outbreak's epicenter, healthcare access is hindered by strikes among frontline workers, who are demanding better pay. Anicet Baluku, a Bunia resident, attributes the deaths of his two brothers to the strike. The US Department of State has pledged an additional $242 million in funding for immediate Ebola response and humanitarian assistance, exceeding the previous $512 million in direct aid.

The Ebola virus causing this outbreak has no approved treatment or vaccine, and local officials believe it originated in a remote area before being declared in mid-May. The response is expanding but has not reached communities quickly enough to break transmission chains, with contact tracing failing and 60% to 70% of new cases emerging outside of monitored areas.

Doctors Without Borders states that the response is not reaching communities fast enough to stop the outbreak. Dr Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centre for Disease Control, emphasizes the need for better contact tracing and community ownership of the response, as late detection and high fatality rates contribute to the crisis.