The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is advancing more rapidly than any previous epidemic of the disease, raising fears that it could cross additional borders, the World Health Organization chief has warned.
“We must be frank: the epidemic is far from being under control,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an emergency meeting on the crisis.
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“It had a big head start, and we are still playing catch-up.”
His warning came after the DRC said on Monday that more than 2,300 people had died among nearly 5,000 reported cases, making the outbreak the deadliest in the country’s history.
The disease has reached northern and eastern regions where government authority is limited, medical facilities are scarce and numerous armed groups have operated for decades.
Tuesday’s meeting was the second held by the WHO emergency committee since it classified the outbreak on 17 May as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the agency’s second-highest alert designation.
The timing of the committee’s recommendations remained uncertain.
The UN health agency currently rates the public health risk as “very high” across the DRC, “high” in Uganda and other neighbouring countries, and “low” in the rest of Africa and globally.
Infographic explaining the Ebola virus, from infection, up to either recovery or death
Authorities have recorded cases in six provinces of the DRC, including areas close to the South Sudan border, as well as in neighbouring Uganda.
“The risk of further national and international spread remains high,” Mr Tedros said.
“It is moving faster than any previous Ebola outbreak,” he added, according to a transcript of his remarks.
The DRC’s 2018-2020 outbreak had previously been regarded as the country’s worst. It killed 2,299 people from 3,381 confirmed cases, according to WHO figures drawn from Congolese data.
The largest Ebola epidemic on record struck west Africa between 2013 and 2016, claiming more than 11,300 lives, primarily in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Earlier this month, the WHO said it could still be possible to bring the outbreak under control within three months.
Since then, however, indications have pointed to a deterioration, with the virus spreading into a sixth province.
“About the next plan for the three months, yes, if you have the necessary resources, I think it will be possible to do that,” WHO incident manager Thierno Balde told reporters in Geneva by video link from Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The response is facing a funding shortfall: the WHO has secured about 60% of the $115 million (€99m) it says is needed to tackle the outbreak.
Even so, containment operations are expanding, with 400 additional beds installed over the past two weeks, Mr Balde said.
