Brussels, Belgium. The response to the fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is weeks, if not months, behind, with thousands of people at risk not yet reached by health teams. The outbreak has spread to Uganda and is being hampered by attacks on health facilities, shortages and funding cuts.
Outbreak details
The World Health Organization says the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola for which there is no vaccine or treatment, has caused a suspected 220 deaths and 900 cases. Uganda has reported seven cases.
Tracing contacts
Documents from a virtual coordination meeting held on Friday by the WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention showed that, as of last week, only 7% of 1,261 people identified as contacts of suspected Ebola patients had been found and followed up. The WHO said on Wednesday that the number of contacts was more than 2,000.
Challenges on the ground
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that the outbreak was “outpacing the response” and that attacks on health facilities made tracking cases and their contacts nearly impossible.
In eastern Congo, the worst-hit area, hospitals have been attacked and isolation tents burned by angry mobs reclaiming bodies of loved ones, apparently unaware of the risks from infectious corpses.
Compounding factors
Health teams are also facing a lack of basic supplies and mistrust in communities affected by previous outbreaks. Officials and health sources said the global response has also been affected by the withdrawal of the United States from the WHO and wider funding cuts.
