Ebola Outbreak in Congo Spreading Faster than Expected

JAKARTA - The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading faster than efforts to contain it, medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Wednesday, as the number of confirmed cases jumped above 2,000.

MSF said medical responses needed to be stepped up to hold off the spread of the virus, which has affected 41 health zones two months into the current outbreak.

The number of confirmed cases reached 2,011, including 754 deaths, on Wednesday, with a case fatality rate of 37.5 percent since the outbreak was declared on May 15, according to the Ministry of Health's situation update, as reported by Anadolu (16/7).

The virus has affected five provinces, including Haut-Uele, Ituri, Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu, and Tshopo.

MSF said the epidemic continues to spread at an unprecedented speed and to new areas, while efforts to control it are still inadequate.

"Every delay costs lives. We are still chasing this outbreak instead of anticipating it," said Trish Newport, MSF emergency program manager.

"The more people are infected, the more families lose their loved ones, and the epidemic is becoming more difficult to control. We need stronger and coordinated international action to move faster and improve access to Ebola treatment and other essential health services," he said.

The outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus has become the third largest and fastest growing Ebola outbreak in history in just two months, according to MSF.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that the number of affected health zones had increased from 36 to 42 in the past week.

The WHO said the scale of the outbreak in Congo could be two to four times larger than official estimates and is the fastest growing outbreak ever recorded, with most of the new cases coming from unknown chains of transmission.

The Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has launched the first clinical trial in Congo and Uganda evaluating post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) with obeldesivir for Ebola.

MSF urges health authorities and humanitarian organizations to immediately increase resources in all aspects of the Ebola response, including community engagement, surveillance, testing and diagnosis, and dignified handling and burial of bodies.