The World Health Organisation warned on Thursday that Ebola was spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo more quickly than during any previous outbreak of the deadly virus.

More than 2,000 cases including 796 deaths have been confirmed in the DR Congo since the outbreak was declared two months ago, making it "now the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.

By comparison, he pointed out that the big Ebola outbreak in the DRC in 2018-2020 "took more than 10 months to reach 2,000 confirmed cases," warning that the virus was spreading faster than ever seen before.

"In the past month, it has expanded faster than any previous outbreak," he warned.

The DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15 after several deaths in Ituri, a mineral-rich northeastern province, plagued by armed groups.

Cases of Ebola, which spreads through close contact and infected bodily fluids, have so far been found in five DRC provinces, as well as in neighbouring Uganda, though the vast majority are in Ituri.

Tedros hailed the rapid ramping-up of the response to the outbreak, pointing out that treatment capacity in northeastern DRC now stood at 800 beds, while laboratory capacity had jumped from a single lab to 16.

But he warned that "despite the progress we have made, the outbreak in DRC is continuing to outpace the response."

The WHO chief highlighted that over 80 percent of new cases were being detected "outside known contact lists, showing that transmission chains are still being missed."

"About two-thirds of deaths are occurring in communities, among people who never receive care in a health facility," he acknowledged.

Complicating things further, the current outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

But Tedros hailed "encouraging progress on vaccines and therapeutics."

Trials for two potential treatments for Bundibugyo patients – the monoclonal antibody MBP134 and the antiviral drug remdesivir – have also been under way in Ituri since July 2.

Even without approved vaccines and treatments, 377 people have recovered in the DRC, said Tedros, "showing that with early diagnosis and safe care, this disease can be survived and stopped." (AFP)



Edited by Cecil Wong