WHO: Ebola outbreak in Congo surpasses 1,000 cases in a month

ILLUSTRATION DOK © WHO/Joël Lumbala

JAKARTA - The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 1,000 confirmed cases in the first month of its spread, making it the largest Ebola epidemic in the country's history at the early stage of the outbreak.

Director of Health Emergency Warning and Response Operations of the World Health Organization (WHO) Abdi Mahamud said the Ministry of Health had recorded 1,048 confirmed cases including 267 deaths as of Monday (22/6).

"Since the last time I gave a briefing on June 9 from Bunia, this outbreak has continued to spread," Mahamud said, quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Tuesday, June 23.

After completing a one-month mission in Congo, Mahamud explained that the pattern of transmission was different in each affected health zone. Some areas showed a stable trend, while other areas experienced a sharp spike in the number of cases.

He said that treatment efforts continued to be expanded to keep up with the development of the outbreak. Treatment capacity has increased from only a few beds to more than 500 beds spread across 19 health centers in the last two weeks.

Meanwhile, laboratory testing capacity has also increased significantly, from 30 tests per day last month to more than 2,000 tests per day through eight decentralized laboratories in Ituri Province, North Kivu, and South Kivu.

Nevertheless, Mahamud warned that treatment centers were beginning to face great pressure, with bed occupancy rates reaching 84 percent of available capacity.

Calling the outbreak a "challenging and complex" situation, Mahamud said the WHO had requested funding of 115 million US dollars (around Rp2.06 trillion) to help slow down and stop the transmission of the disease.

He also revealed that neighboring Uganda has reported the 20th confirmed case of Ebola related to the ongoing outbreak in Congo.