Ebola outbreak now third largest and “fastest spreading”

The Ebola outbreak in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to escalate, with cases approaching 750, 177 deaths, and nearly 1,400 cases, the World Health Organization said on Friday. The latest statistics have already said that the epidemic is the third worst in history, although it was first reported a week ago, on May 15. And WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the epidemic is “spreading rapidly.”

WHO’s updated assessment has moved the risk from “high” to “very high” at the national level, while the risk remains “high” at the regional level and “low” at the global level, Tedros added.

WHO officials have admitted that delays in identifying and responding to the outbreak led to its escalation, and that they are racing to contain the virus.

WHO representative Dr. Anne Ancia spoke today from the DRC, saying that when officials arrived in the region, they found that the virus was “still widespread and spreading silently for several weeks already.” In the investigation carried out so far, the first known case was that of a health worker, who developed symptoms on April 24 in Bunia, the capital of Ituri. The WHO only became aware of the possible outbreak on May 5, with news of a deadly, unexplained illness that killed four health workers. When the WHO team arrived, there were already 80 cases.

“Now we are running behind (the virus) to try to control the epidemic, and because it is still spreading, yes, the number (of cases) will continue to grow for a while until we can put all the facts,” he said.

Their work is made hard by various challenges. The Ebola virus that causes Ebola is the Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no vaccine or cure. This leaves discovery, isolation, and communication tracking as the primary tools to prevent the spread. In addition, the virus is spreading in areas where there is war, poor mobility, weak health systems, and where millions are facing severe hunger and need humanitarian assistance.