Congo’s Ebola crisis deepens with most new cases unlinked to known contacts

The Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo “continues to outpace the response efforts,” the World Health Organization’s emergencies chief said on Tuesday after returning from a trip to Bunia, in Ituri province, which is one of the worst hit areas.

“Perhaps the most alarming finding is that many of the newly reported deaths are people who died in their communities without ever reaching a health facility and without receiving care,” Chikwe Ihekweazu said. “And as of today, 80% of new cases are outside our contact lists and so are coming to us from unknown chains of transmission.”

Congo has been battling the outbreak of a rare type of Ebola since May with no approved treatment or vaccine. The Africa Centre for Disease Control said last week that it is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on the continent.

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As of Monday, at least 1,926 people have been infected and 702 died in three provinces in Congo from the rare Bundibugyo virus, Congolese authorities said. Cases have also been confirmed in neighboring Uganda.

Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a U.S. citizen working for a humanitarian organization in Congo has tested positive for the Ebola virus, without providing further details.

Ihekweazu told reporters in Geneva that his visit to Bunia had been “quite encouraging on many fronts, but also deeply concerning on many fronts.”

Treatment capacity in Bunia is now close to 800 beds, which is increasing every week, and lab capacity has increased from one to 14 labs, while there have been improvements on other fronts too.

Ihekweazu said that despite “our best efforts … we have not caught up in the race.”

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The response has been hampered by a funding gap, attacks on health centers, and an ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, as well as mistrust among local communities.

On Monday, dozens of people working at an Ebola virus treatment center in northeast Congo went on strike over unpaid salaries and bonuses.

The Congolese authorities declared a fresh Ebola outbreak on May 15 after the disease had been transmitting for weeks without official detection, according to the WHO.

Clinical trials for treatment began last week after researchers launched a highly anticipated study in the hope of fighting the virus.