The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) can still be brought under control within three months, despite the virus continuing to spread and becoming the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak on record.
The WHO had earlier said it was possible to reverse the outbreak within a three-month period. However, the situation has since deteriorated, with the virus spreading to a sixth province.
WHO incident manager Thierno Balde told reporters in Geneva from Bunia that the target remained achievable if sufficient resources were made available.
“About the next plan for the three months, yes, if you have the necessary resources, I think it will be possible to do that,” he said.
The outbreak, which is the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in Congo, has so far killed at least 2,325 people, making it the country’s deadliest outbreak to date.
However, the response is facing a major funding shortfall. The WHO has raised around 60% of the US$115 million (approximately RM485 million) it says is needed to respond effectively to the outbreak.
Authorities are also facing challenges including delayed detection, overstretched disease surveillance teams, armed conflict and limited access to vaccines and treatments for the relatively rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus.
Despite the difficulties, containment efforts have been stepped up. Balde said an additional 400 hospital beds had been added over the past two weeks, while more epidemiologists would be deployed to trace people who had been in contact with infected patients.
“The situation is quite difficult, but people are working here day and night trying to control this outbreak,” he said.
Other health officials, however, warned that the outbreak remains far from being contained. Between 70% and 80% of new cases have no known link to previously identified patients, suggesting the virus continues to spread undetected in several areas.
Dr Wessam Mankoula, Africa CDC’s head of emergency preparedness and response, said authorities were still struggling to understand the full scale of the outbreak.
“We are far from discovering the magnitude of this outbreak,” he said, warning that the situation would not be resolved within just a few weeks or months.
The WHO Emergency Committee is meeting on Tuesday to assess the outbreak, which was declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) by the UN health agency on May 17.
The committee is expected to determine whether the emergency declaration should be extended and issue further recommendations to countries on measures to contain the spread of the virus.
