The WHO chief visited the Ebola hotspot in eastern Congo as health officials struggle to contain an outbreak that is spreading faster than aid efforts.
BUNIA, Congo (AP) – The head of the World Health Organization on Saturday arrived in eastern Congo’s Bunia, a city in the heart of an outbreak of a rare strain of Ebolawhere the virus continues to spread faster than the response, despite better organized health facilities and new aid arrivals.
Director General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is expected to visit a treatment center and meet local authorities, health workers and affected families in Bunia.
“The best way to deal with this is to provide all the support necessary to fight the disease at its epicenter and continue to provide any assistance needed,” Tedros told reporters late Friday.
The WHO said on Friday that authorities have reported 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths. Neighboring Uganda has confirmed nine cases and one death, Uganda’s health ministry said on Friday.
of Bundibugyo virusthe current strain of Ebola has no approved treatment or vaccine.
“This is a difficult situation and we understand that. But the Democratic Republic of Congo has faced the Ebola virus many times before. We are confident that it can bring this outbreak under control again,” Tedros told reporters on Friday after meeting with Congolese Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka.
Medical aid donated by the European Union arrived in Ituri, the heart of the Ebola outbreak in Congo, on Thursday, with further shipments expected over the next eight days. The US announced an additional $80 million in aid the same day, bringing its total commitment to more than $112 million.
Response efforts at Bunia’s Rwampara and General hospitals appear more organized, with additional staff, protective gear and medical supplies, although patients continue to arrive around the clock, an AP reporter observed Friday.
The response has not kept pace with one of the most widespread outbreaks in history, Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, warned on Saturday.
“Never before has an Ebola outbreak recorded so many cases so quickly after its declaration,” Dr. Alan Gonzalez, MSF’s deputy director of operations.
“No one knows the true scale and severity of this outbreak,” Gonzalez said, calling for immediate expansion of testing, faster deployment of aid workers and sustained access to medical supplies.
Risks faced by health workers have been compounded by residents’ anger over strict medical protocols for handling the bodies of victims, which conflict with local burial rites. Residents have started at least three attacks against health centers.
Attacks in Ituri by the Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel group allied with the Islamic State group and a coalition of ethnic militias have also hampered the response.
The disease has also been reported in the Congolese provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, south of Ituri, where the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group controls many key cities, including Goma and Bukavu. Rebels have reported two cases.
Uganda and Rwanda have closed their borders, while the Trump administration last week barred entry to non-US passport holders who had recently visited Congo, Uganda or South Sudan.
Tedros on Friday called border closures and travel bans “not at all effective” in preventing the spread of the outbreak.
“Closing borders, as some countries have done, only discourages transparency. The Democratic Republic of Congo is reporting the situation openly and transparently,” he said, urging countries to review these measures.
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Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press reporter Saleh Mwanamilongo in Bonn, Germany, contributed to this report.
BY JUSTIN KABUMBA AND MARK BANCHEREAU Associated Press
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