The majority of Ebola virus cases in eastern Congo are from unknown chains of transmission, the World Health Organization鈥檚 emergencies chief said on Tuesday and warned that the outbreak 鈥渃ontinues to outpace the response efforts.鈥�
Congo has been battling an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola since May, with no approved treatment or vaccine. The Africa Centre for Disease Control says
鈥淧erhaps the most alarming finding is that many of the newly reported deaths are people who died in their communities without ever reaching a health facility and without receiving care,鈥� Chikwe Ihekweazu said after returning from Bunia, in Ituri province, one of the worst-hit cities. 鈥淎nd as of today, 80% of new cases are outside our contact lists and so are coming to us from unknown chains of transmission.鈥�
As of Monday, at least 1,926 people have been infected, of whom 702 have died, in three provinces in Congo from the rare , Congolese authorities said. Cases have also been confirmed in neighboring Uganda.
Ihekweazu told reporters in Geneva that his visit to Bunia had been 鈥渜uite encouraging on many fronts, but also deeply concerning.鈥�
Treatment capacity in Bunia is now close to 800 beds, with capacity increasing every week, and lab capacity has grown from 1 to 14 labs, an effort the emergency chief lauded.
However, Ihekweazu said that despite 鈥渙ur best efforts … we have not caught up in the race.鈥�
A funding gap, attacks on health centers, an ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, and mistrust among local communities have hampered the response.
On Monday, dozens of people working at an Ebola virus in northeast Congo and bonuses.
The Congolese authorities declared a fresh Ebola outbreak on May 15 after the disease had been transmitting for weeks without official detection, according to the WHO. last week after researchers in the hope of fighting the virus.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on July 11 that a U.S. citizen working for a humanitarian organization in Congo has tested positive for the Ebola virus, without providing further details.
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