The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a warning over the spread of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It said containment efforts are being hampered as the outbreak spreads quickly and is compounded by violence from armed rebels and distrust in local communities.
On the 25th, Bloomberg reported that World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a virtual briefing with health ministers from African countries that "the pace of Ebola's spread is outpacing our containment efforts."
According to the Democratic Republic of the Congo's authorities, the cumulative confirmed cases have risen to 101 and the cumulative suspected cases to 930. Suspected Ebola deaths were tallied at 221.
The Ebola virus has spread to 11 infected areas, including North Kivu and South Kivu, centered on Ituri Province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The number of identified contacts has surpassed 2,200. In neighboring Uganda, seven confirmed cases, including medical staff, have been reported.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo's government is struggling to isolate patients and trace transmission routes as violence by armed rebels, the mass displacement of refugees, and local distrust of the government and medical workers converge.
In fact, over the weekend in Ituri Province, residents demanding the release of a body raided a hospital. During the incident, at least 25 Ebola patients who had been isolated in treatment facilities reportedly escaped.
Local insecurity is also cited as a factor complicating containment efforts. In the Masisi area of North Kivu Province, fighting continues between government forces and the M23 armed rebel group backed by Rwanda.