Congo Ebola outbreak outpaces response as 80% of new cases lack traceable links

The Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo is continuing to spread faster than response efforts, the World Health Organisation's emergencies chief said on Tuesday after returning from Bunia, one of the worst-hit areas in Ituri province.

Chikwe Ihekweazu said the situation was improving in some areas, but remained deeply worrying as many new infections were still emerging from unknown chains of transmission. Congo has been battling the outbreak of a rare type of Ebola since May, with no approved treatment or vaccine.

"Perhaps 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," Ihekweazu said. "And as of today, 80 per cent of new cases are outside our contact lists and so are coming to us from unknown chains of transmission."

As of Monday, at least 1,926 people have been infected and 702 have died in three provinces in Congo from the rare Bundibugyo virus, Congolese authorities said. Cases have also been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda. Last week, the Africa Centres for Disease Control said this was the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on the continent.

Ihekweazu told reporters in Geneva that his visit to Bunia had been "quite encouraging on many fronts, but also deeply concerning on many fronts". He said treatment capacity in Bunia was now close to 800 beds and was increasing every week. Laboratory capacity has also risen from one lab to 14, alongside improvements in other areas. Even so, he said that despite "our best efforts ... we have not caught up in the race".

The response has been slowed by a funding gap, attacks on health centres, the ongoing conflict in eastern Congo and mistrust among local communities. On Monday, dozens of people working at an Ebola treatment centre in northeast Congo went on strike over unpaid salaries and bonuses.

The Congolese authorities declared a fresh Ebola outbreak on May 15 after the disease had been spreading for weeks without official detection, according to the WHO. Last week, clinical trials for treatment began after researchers launched a closely watched study in the hope of fighting the virus. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention also said last week that a US citizen working for a humanitarian organisation in Congo had tested positive for the Ebola virus, without giving further details.

In sum, health officials say the outbreak in eastern Congo is still spreading faster than the response, even as treatment and testing capacity expand, with rising infections, deaths and wider operational problems continuing to strain efforts to contain it.

With PTI Inputs