Ebola cases in DR Congo rise, surpassing previous outbreak

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Equateur Province continues to rise, surpassing the total number recorded during the province's last outbreak in 2018, the World Health Organization said on July 16.

This comes three weeks after the 10th two year-long Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo that infected 3,470 and killed 2,287 was declared over.

The UN agency said the increasing numbers are causing major concerns because the organization together with partners are facing critical financing gaps.

The latest outbreak, the DR Congo's 11th, was declared on June 1, 2020, after a cluster of cases was detected in Mbandaka area. The outbreak has since spread to six health zones, with 56 cases recorded.

The city of Mbandaka and its surroundings were also the site of the country's ninth Ebola outbreak which lasted from May to July 2018 and in which 54 cases were confirmed.

Of the 56 cases reported so far, 53 are confirmed and three are probable. In the last three weeks alone, 28 cases have been confirmed.

"Responding to Ebola in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is complex, but we must not let the virus distract us from tackling other pressing health threats," Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa, said in a statement.

According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of July 16, coronavirus had infected 8,199 and killed 193 in the DR Congo.

Moeti said the current Ebola outbreak is running into headwinds because cases are scattered across remote areas in dense rain forests.

"This makes the response costly because ensuring that responders and supplies reach affected populations is extremely challenging."

The ongoing Ebola response is also facing funding shortfalls. So far WHO has mobilized $ 1.8 million, which will last only a few more weeks.

Additional support is needed to rapidly scale up the efforts by the UN agency, the DRC health authorities and partners to ensure all the affected communities receive key services including health education and community engagement, vaccination, testing, contact tracing and treatment.

WHO said significant achievements have been made since the outbreak began. "In six weeks, more than 12,000 people have been vaccinated. During the 2018 outbreak in Equateur, it took two weeks to start vaccinations. This time around vaccinations started within four days of the outbreak being declared," the UN agency said.

The current response builds on lessons learned from the country's previous Ebola outbreaks, which underscored the importance of working closely with communities.

Around 90 percent of the vaccinators in the ongoing outbreak are from the local communities, WHO said.

The response has also been able to tap into the expertise of laboratory technicians trained during the 2018 outbreak, with 26 laboratory technicians currently supporting diagnostics. Working with local responders is inspiring trust between communities and health workers and making the emergency response more effective.

WHO, along with the Ministry of Health and partners, has been engaging with communities to increase understanding of the virus and local support for response activities.

More than 40,000 households have been visited by community health workers and more than 273,000 people have been provided with health and safety information.