Ebola outbreak zone cases up almost 40 percent in a week

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The Ebola outbreak in Congo that’s spread across parts of Africa has killed more than 200 people in its first month and is considered the worst known outbreak at this stage, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said Thursday.

Ebola cases have surged 38 percent since last week, spreading across 32 health zones in eastern Congo. Health officials at Africa CDC said the current outbreak, with 894 confirmed cases so far, is three times worse than Uganda’s previous Ebola outbreak in 2000, which had 281 confirmed cases at the same stage.

Congo’s eastern province of Ituri accounts for more than 90 percent of confirmed cases. Infections have also been reported in Congo’s North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and have spread into neighboring Uganda, where health officials recorded 19 confirmed cases and two deaths.

But contact tracing efforts have been hampered by the remoteness of the outbreak zones, funding and personnel shortages, as well as displacement, according to Dr. Wessam Mankoula, a medical epidemiologist at Africa CDC.

Years of conflict in Ituri province have displaced nearly 1 million people, complicating efforts to track potential exposures as residents flee.

“For those 800 confirmed cases, we should have between 17,000 to 35,000 contacts that should be in our contact list,” Mankoula said. “We are still far from controlling the situation of this outbreak.”

Only 4,000 people so far have been identified and are being evaluated.

The outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo virus, and there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for the virus.

Africa CDC said only 74 patients have recovered from the disease so far. Experimental treatments for the Bundibugyo virus, such as monoclonal antibody therapies, are currently being developed.

Funding and staffing shortages continue to hinder response efforts. Africa CDC estimates it needs 540 personnel to combat the outbreak but only has 84 deployed. And of the $900 million pledged by international partners, only $90 million has been released.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed those new pledges will be fast tracked,” Mankoula said, adding that Africa CDC will be pressing governments and partners to turn their commitments into actual funding.

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