The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised its public health alert to its highest internal tier, warning that the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) now poses a “very high” risk at the national level.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced Ebola risk escalation in DR Congo during a press conference on Friday, noting that the virus is “spreading rapidly” through conflict-weary eastern provinces.
While the health agency revised the national threat level upward from “high” to “very high,” it maintained that the regional risk remains “high” and the global threat remains “low.”
He said there were now nearly 750 suspected cases in the DR Congo and 177 suspected deaths.
“The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is spreading rapidly,” Tedros said.
“We are now revising our risk assessment to very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level.
“So far, 82 cases have been confirmed in DRC, with seven confirmed deaths.
“But we know the epidemic in DRC is much larger. There are now almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths.
“The situation in Uganda is stable, with two cases confirmed in people who travelled from DRC, with one death.”
Tedros said that violence and insecurity were impeding the response to the outbreak.
Rioters have burnt down hospital tents in a hotspot of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola epidemic, as many Congolese wrestle with fear, anger, and confusion over the latest deadly outbreak.
The hastily arranged burials of the victims suspected to have been killed by the viral haemorrhagic fever have been met with suspicion in a conflict-ridden part of the country already distrustful of the state.
With tensions running high, the military has been deployed to provide security for funerals.
Tents used to isolate Ebola patients at Rwampara hospital, in the northeastern Ituri province at the outbreak’s epicentre, were torched in the riot on Thursday, which ended swiftly after the army stepped in. Only the tents’ charred husks remain.
“It all kicked off when a 24-year-old man, the son of a soldier, died at the hospital,” an official at the medical institution said.
“The family wanted us to hand over his body so that they can bury him, but given the circumstances, that’s impossible,” the official added.
Besides being extremely deadly, Ebola is transmitted through prolonged physical contact and bodily fluids.
There is no vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the 17th Ebola outbreak to hit the vast central African country, which the World Health Organization believes has already killed more than 177 people.
So attempts to tackle the latest spread have been forced to rely mainly on precautions and rapid contact tracing.
