The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is still building, the Red Cross warned, raising the alarm that the crisis may stretch on for as long as a year.
“It’s very difficult to know exactly to what extent the epidemic is spreading… but yes, the peak is, I think, not behind us, but in front of us,” Bruno Michon, operations manager for the Ebola outbreak for The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told reporters by video link from eastern Congo.
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“We are afraid that this could last one year, to end this disease,” he added.
More than 800 cases of the rare Bundibugyo strain have been recorded in Congo, including 192 deaths. The strain has no proven treatment or vaccine, leaving health workers to confront a fast-moving outbreak with limited tools.
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said in a statement that official government figures probably fall short of capturing the real toll, reinforcing concerns already voiced by aid organizations and some Congolese officials.
The outbreak is already the third deadliest Ebola epidemic ever documented.
MSF said testing remains “one of the most significant weaknesses in the response”.
Efforts to contain the virus have also been slowed by too few treatment centres and by resistance in some communities to strict hygiene measures. More than a month after the outbreak was declared, health officials say they still do not know its full reach.
The World Health Organization said yesterday that hospital capacity for treating and isolating Ebola patients remained inadequate.
Just 14 treatment facilities and centres are operating across nine health zones in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
Yet the outbreak has already spread to 31 of at least 90 health zones – defined areas made up of a network of clinics and a referral hospital – across those provinces.
