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.
Ebola outpacing response
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% 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 said.
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 underway in Ituri since July 2.
And the first safety trial began on Monday for the ChAdOx1 vaccine, led by the University of Oxford, Tedros said.
And on Tuesday, a trial of the antiviral obeldesivir began to test its effectiveness in post-exposure prophylaxis for people who had come in contact with confirmed Bundibugyo cases but had yet to develop the disease.
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”.
Treatment centre attacked
The WHO chief said that one of the biggest concerns remained “the complex environment in which the outbreak is happening”, with the vast majority of cases found in conflict-torn Ituri.
“Active armed conflict is hampering access to the affected areas, and hindering the response,” he said, pointing out that on Wednesday, a treatment centre “was attacked” in Ituri’s capital Bunia.
The main priorities, he said, included reducing transmission in Ituri by strengthening surveillance; safe and dignified burials of highly infectious bodies of deceased Ebola patients; and clinical management of the sick.
To do this, he stressed the urgent need for more support from the international community, pointing to “a shortfall of more than US$400 million ($685.2m)” for a joint plan put forward by the WHO and the African Centres for Disease Control to address the outbreak.
– AFP