Tedros Ghebreyesus believes DR Congo is able to contain the outbreak on its own, but independent observers are not so optimistic
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, has visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), which is currently battling a severe Ebola outbreak. Ghebreyesus expressed confidence the nation would be able to contain the disease.
The outbreak started in the DR Congo’s northeastern province of Ituri around two weeks ago. To date, it is believed to have claimed the lives of some 223 people with 906 suspected cases, according to estimates by the WHO.
Ghebreyesus met with top officials from the DR Congo, expressing confidence that the country is fully capable of containing the latest outbreak. The WHO chief warned other nations against border closures and travel bans, which have been implemented by several countries in the region, suggesting that such measures only “discourage transparency.”
“The Democratic Republic of Congo has faced Ebola 16 times before and has ended every outbreak. This is the 17th. That history gives me real confidence,” Ghebreyesus said during a news conference alongside DR Congo’s health minister, Roger Kamba. The WHO chief urged locals to exercise caution while burying victims of the outbreak, as well as to seek help early should they display symptoms.
The optimism displayed by the WHO chief, however, has been met with skepticism by independent observers and humanitarian groups. The organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF), for instance, pointed at the unusually rapid spread of the disease, stating that its teams working on the ground have witnessed “a response that has not yet caught up to the rapid spread of the epidemic.”
“Two weeks after the declaration of the Ebola disease outbreak in Ituri Province, the situation is deeply alarming and a legitimate source of anxiety for communities and frontline health workers alike. Never before has an Ebola outbreak recorded so many cases so soon after its declaration,” MSF’s deputy director for operations, Alan Gonzalez, has said, warning that “nobody knows the true scale and severity of this outbreak.”
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) earlier this week provided somewhat higher estimates than those shared by the WHO, reporting 1,077 suspected cases and 246 probable deaths as of Thursday. The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain, a rare and extremely deadly species of Ebola, with mortality rates ranging between 25% and 50%. No approved vaccines or specific treatments exist for the virus, which is believed to spread through direct contact with infected bodily fluids.
