{"id":480634,"date":"2026-06-16T19:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T19:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/480634\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T19:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T19:54:12","slug":"ebola-outbreak-in-congo-yet-to-peak-could-last-a-year-red-cross-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/480634\/","title":{"rendered":"Ebola outbreak in Congo yet to peak, could last a year, Red Cross says"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MedicalMedical staff stand at the doffing and decontamination station at the Evangelical Medical Centre of Nyankunde after providing care to patients suffering from or suspected of having Ebola virus disease. Photo \/ Jospin Mwisha, AFP<\/p>\n

Since the outbreak was declared on May 15, 808 cases have been confirmed in the DR Congo, including 192 deaths, according to the latest World Health Organisation figures.<\/p>\n

Feared \u2018geographic expansion\u2019<\/p>\n

The response to the epidemic, the 17th to hit the vast central African country, has faced towering challenges.<\/p>\n

No approved vaccines or treatments exist for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus responsible for the current outbreak.<\/p>\n

The three affected provinces in the northeast \u2013 Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu \u2013 have long been gripped by conflict and mass displacement, complicating the response.<\/p>\n

And the region has seen conflict casualty figures climb higher since the outbreak began, according to the Red Cross, placing further pressure on an already fragile health system.<\/p>\n

\u201cA sudden geographic expansion of the epidemic is feared if public health measures are not implemented quickly,\u201d the Congolese National Institute of Public Health warned in its daily situation report.<\/p>\n

\"FamilyFamily members pay their last respects to a relative who died from Ebola through a window at the morgue of the Evangelical Medical Centre of Nyankunde. Photo \/ Jospin Mwisha, AFP<\/p>\n

The outbreak has already spread to neighbouring Uganda, which to date counts 19 confirmed cases, including two deaths.<\/p>\n

In the DR Congo, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Oxfam warned this week that the full extent of Ebola, which is spread by close contact and infected bodily fluids, remained unclear.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one knows the true scale or exactly where the disease is spreading,\u201d Kate White, MSF\u2019s emergency medical co-ordinator in the DR Congo, said yesterday, warning that \u201ctesting remains one of the most significant weaknesses\u201d.<\/p>\n

Michon agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to know exactly to what extent the epidemic is spreading,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Blind spots\u2019<\/p>\n

Oxfam attributed insufficient contact tracing to \u201cthe withdrawal of US funding for disease surveillance and severe funding shortfalls\u201d.<\/p>\n

The aid organisation also pointed to a dire lack of clean water in the Ebola-stricken areas, as well as a dearth of basic protective equipment for health workers.<\/p>\n

While testing capacity has been significantly ramped up in recent weeks, World Health Organisation spokesman Tarik Jasarevic acknowledged that \u201cblind spots\u201d remain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere may be transmission chains that are not being detected,\u201d he told reporters in Geneva.<\/p>\n

The mistrust of the population in a region where the Congolese state has been absent in many areas for decades is another major hurdle, Michon said.<\/p>\n

Like in past outbreaks, hospitals and medics in the eastern part of the country have reported attacks and riots, with some criticising the Congolese Government\u2019s response and others denying that Ebola even exists.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo stop this outbreak, we need to invest not only in medical response, but also in trust, local volunteers, community engagement and operational access,\u201d Michon said.<\/p>\n

He pointed out that \u201cin recent days, DRC Red Cross volunteers have faced verbal abuse, threats and even physical attacks while carrying out their work\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrust is central,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout trust, we cannot detect cases early. We cannot ensure safe burials. We cannot protect families. And we cannot stop transmission.\u201d<\/p>\n

– AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Medical staff stand at the doffing and decontamination station at the Evangelical Medical Centre of Nyankunde after providing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[534,8425,55141,124,17353,8452,6659,19067,23268,82477,134,78,685,20494,111,139,69,17976,13028,15406,23269,3048,312,2889,199,61,8431,33210,379,9184],"class_list":["post-480634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-amid","tag-congo","tag-contain","tag-could","tag-cross","tag-dangerous","tag-deadly","tag-democratic","tag-ebola","tag-gaps","tag-health","tag-in","tag-last","tag-mounting","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-outbreak","tag-peak","tag-red","tag-republic","tag-said","tag-says","tag-tackling","tag-take","tag-to","tag-virus","tag-warnings","tag-year","tag-yet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}