Ebola continues to spread in Congo and the death toll exceeds 500, WHO warns

“The true scale of this outbreak is not yet fully known,” said Dr. Anne Ancia, WHOrepresentative for the DRC.

“We say it is stable, but honestly we can’t say that yet,” he said.

Speaking from Bunia, the capital of Ituri province which is the epicenter of this outbreak, Dr. Ancia told reporters in Geneva that as of July 4, the country’s government had recorded 1,561 confirmed cases, including 506 deaths and 254 recoveries. More than 10,000 contacts are being monitored.

Centered on the ‘saturation point’

To support the government-led response, WHO is strengthening its understanding of the history of each case of infection “so we can really understand the chain of transmission” and isolate any contact cases, said Dr. Ancia.

Highlighting the challenges, a WHO representative said treatment centers were “at saturation point”.

“I visited treatment centers in and around Bunia, Beni, Butembo, Katwa, and I met frontline workers responsible for patient care, contact tracing, investigating alerts and sensitizing and mobilizing communities,” he said, praising the respondents. “I witnessed firsthand the dedication of the staff who continued to serve their community despite facing enormous challenges.”

All needs cannot be met

The current outbreak was declared on May 15 and has occurred in areas characterized by active conflict, displacement, and limited health services.

“Right now, we don’t have enough ambulances,” said Dr. Ancia, warned that all needs in Ituri province could not be met.

Positive gains amidst challenges

Encouraging developments include the progress made in testing, as daily capacity has increased from 30 tests in Kinshasa to more than 2,000, “thanks to 10 decentralized laboratories established in the affected provinces”, the WHO representative explained, with the opening of the latest laboratory in Bunia.

Another positive step was the start of clinical trials on July 2 to identify effective treatment options as there is no approved and proven drug for the Bundibugyo species. Ebola. The trial will evaluate two promising therapies, the monoclonal antibody, MBP134, and the antiviral remdesivir.

“These drugs will be administered alone or in combination to assess their potential to improve survival in people with Bundibugyo virus disease,” said Dr. Ancia.

More than 1,200 doses of the treatment are available, and additional therapies may be included in trials as new evidence emerges.

Violent clashes

The security situation in eastern Congo remains highly unstable amid violent clashes between Congolese forces and armed militias in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri.

In late June, James Swan, head of the UN Stabilization Mission in Congo, called MONUSCOtold Security Council that heavy fighting continues between the Congolese Fleuve Alliance/March 23 Movement (AFC/M23), backed by Rwandan troops, and the Congolese Army (FARDC) allied with the Wazalendo armed group.

Rwanda has consistently denied the allegations.

Daily alerts are investigated

In the North Kivu region controlled by de facto authorities, he said “we are working to strengthen community surveillance to ensure there are no more cases,” and noted that a large number of alerts were coming in “every day” from laboratories on the ground and were being followed up.

When asked about reported claims from the M23 group that Ebola had been eradicated in areas under its control, Dr. Ancia confirmed it had received information indicating that there were no more cases in the zone and “all contact cases have been released.”

“At this time, we have no confirmed case reports” in the region, he said.