KINSHASA, May 29– The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been stepping up its response to a fast-spreading Ebola outbreak with joint efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international partners.
On Thursday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Kinshasa, the DRC capital, saying he would travel to Bunia, the capital of the eastern Ituri Province and the epicenter of the outbreak, to inspect the situation and support response.
“It is a very complex outbreak,” Tedros told reporters upon his landing.
According to the DRC’s Ministry of Health, as of Tuesday, the country had recorded 1,077 suspected Ebola cases, 121 confirmed cases and 238 suspected deaths.
Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), told an online press briefing on Thursday that the outbreak should be regarded as “a regional outbreak,” as at least two countries, the DRC and Uganda, have reported confirmed cases.
He said Uganda has reported eight confirmed cases, with 11 other countries listed at high risk of being affected. “We are still expecting in Africa CDC an increase (of cases), because we are still in the active phase of the outbreak.”
According to Kaseya, the numbers are rising because health authorities have begun conducting active surveillance, identifying contacts, testing people and isolating suspected cases.
Speaking late Thursday in Bunia, DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba also noted that many of the reported cases and deaths remained “suspected,” not laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases.
The latest crisis is the DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak since 1976, which is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is currently no licensed vaccine or specific treatment.
Tedros said he was encouraged by the report that a first patient in the DRC had recovered in Ituri, while stressing that medical tools remain limited. “What we are using is now to take care of the patient, give the necessary care for the patient to recover,” he said.
Despite a lack of approved vaccines and specific medicines, standard clinical care, when properly delivered, could save lives, Kamba said.
Tedros said the WHO is also working with different institutions and partners to expedite clinical trials of candidate vaccines and treatments, though such tools “will take some months” before becoming available.
The outbreak has prompted some countries to impose travel restrictions on people coming from affected areas.
Tedros said the WHO does not advise travel bans, as such measures “do not help much” and may only slow transmission by a few days. The better approach, he said, is to intensify control measures at the source and support the affected areas.
He warned that travel bans could discourage transparency and may lead countries to ask why they should report early if they are going to be “sanctioned.”
Meanwhile, Kaseya also said the outbreak could not be stopped by political declarations or travel restrictions alone, but required resources, cross-border coordination and stronger public health measures at borders.
Beyond border measures, authorities also identified community mistrust and misinformation as barriers. Governor of Ituri Province Johnny Luboya said misinformation had fueled attacks and resistance against health facilities.
Tedros said mistrust could affect the response and stressed the importance of transparency, respect for local traditions and community ownership. “This cannot be done without the community,” he said.
As Tedros prepared to travel to Bunia, he said his visit was meant to show affected communities that they are not alone. “We understand their pain,” he said, “but we also understand that they have the energy and all that it needs to stop this.”
The WHO on May 17 declared the Ebola outbreaks in the DRC and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern. It later assessed the risk as “very high” at the national level in the DRC, “high” at the regional level and “low” at the global level. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
