Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo ‘spreading rapidly’ – WHO chief

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is “spreading rapidly” and now poses a “very high” risk at the national level.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN health agency was revising upwards to “very high” its assessment of the risk within DR Congo, which had previously been deemed as high.

The risk remains high for regional spread and low at global levels, he told reporters.

The WHO chief noted that 82 cases have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with seven confirmed deaths, “but we know the epidemic in DRC is much larger”.

He said there are now almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths.

The situation in neighbouring Uganda is “stable” with two cases confirmed in people who had travelled from DR Congo, with one death.

Earlier on Friday, the United Nations said it released 60 million dollars from its Central Emergency Response Fund to accelerate the response in DR Congo and in the region.

The US has pledged 23 million dollars in funding to bolster the response in DR Congo and Uganda, and said it would also fund the establishment of up to 50 Ebola treatment clinics in the affected regions.

Ugandan authorities said they were not aware of any treatment centres being set up by the US.