Ebola outbreak spreading faster than containment efforts, says WHO chief
What's the story
The World Health Organization (WHO) has sounded the alarm over the world's fastest-growing Ebola outbreak. The organization's Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, made the announcement during his visit to Congo on Wednesday. He said that new cases are doubling in some of the hot spots, outpacing efforts to contain the deadly virus.
Call to action
Must urgently scale up efforts: Tedros
Tedros stressed the need for an urgent and massive scale-up of all response efforts.
"We all agree that we must urgently and massively scale up all our efforts across all pillars of the response and by all partners," he said in a post on X after meeting with officials in Kinshasa, Congo's capital.
This is his second visit to the Central African nation since the outbreak was declared in mid-May.
Outbreak statistics
Second-largest Ebola outbreak in history
The current Ebola outbreak in Congo has already claimed 1,751 lives and infected 3,874 people.
The Bundibugyo virus responsible for this outbreak has no approved treatment or vaccine.
Local officials believe it started spreading in a remote area long before it was officially declared on May 15.
This outbreak is the second-largest on record after the West Africa outbreak from 2014-2016, which had more than 28,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths.
Strike impact
Frontline health workers strike over unpaid wages
In Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, many frontline health workers have gone on strike over unpaid wages.
This has further complicated access to healthcare in an area already affected by rebel conflict.
Anicet Baluku, a resident of Bunia (Ituri's capital), blamed the death of his two brothers from Ebola on this strike and urged authorities to find a quick solution to prevent more families from suffering similar tragedies.
Funding boost
US boosts funding for Ebola response
The US Department of State has announced an additional $242 million in funding for immediate Ebola response and preparedness efforts in the region.
This brings the total funding to over $512 million in direct assistance.
The outbreak is still "spreading at an alarming and unprecedented rate," according to medical charity Doctors Without Borders, which also noted that "the response is expanding but is still not reaching communities quickly enough to break transmission chains."
Tracing issues
Contact tracing not working, says Africa CDC head
Dr. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centers for Disease and Control, said during a visit to Bunia that contact tracing isn't working.
He revealed that at least 60-70% of new cases are coming from outside those being monitored after exposure to patients.
Late detection of cases has contributed significantly to the outbreak's high fatality rate of 45%.