Ebola outbreak in the western Democratic Republic of Congo has infected 100 people as of Friday, killing 43 of them, the World Health Organization said.
The outbreak was reported in Equateur province on June 1, just as the country was preparing to declare an end to a separate Ebola epidemic in the east that claimed over 2,000 lives.
According to Newyork Times, The latest outbreak of the virus was declared on June 1 in Mbandaka, a city of 1 million people on the River Congo, just before Congo declared the end of a previous outbreak in the east that had dragged on for two years.
It has spread to remote villages in Equateur province spanning more than 300 km of dense forest with few roads, the WHO said in a statement. The pace of the virus’s spread has been relatively consistent, case data shows.
“The virus is spreading across a wide and rugged terrain which requires costly interventions,” said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Africa regional director.
Director General of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus voiced concern about delays between the onset of symptoms and an alert for a suspected case of Ebola, which he said was five days.
“This is concerning, because the longer a patient goes without treatment, the lower their chances of survival, and the longer the virus can spread unseen in communities,” he said at a press conference in Geneva.
“The situation has been further complicated by a strike by health workers, which is affecting activities including vaccination and safe burials,” he said.
In early August, Ebola health workers went on strike to demand payment of their salaries.
“DRC has the best-trained workforce in the world for Ebola. This situation needs to be resolved as quickly as possible,” he said.
WHO, However, revealed that DR Congo’s health ministry has presented a plan to donors and partners requiring $40 million (34 million euros) in the fight against Ebola, and has committed $4 million.
WHO said it has already mobilised a total of $2.3 million to combat the epidemic.
Congo’s equatorial forests are a natural reservoir for the Ebola virus, which was discovered near the Ebola River in 1976 and causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea.
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