The World Health Organization said Tuesday that the Ebola virus outbreak in Africa is much larger than official figures indicate. WHO is the health agency of the United Nations.
The current outbreak is centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with 20 confirmed cases detected in neighboring Uganda. According to official figures, the virus has so far infected nearly 2,000 people and killed more than 700.
WHO is facing funding shortage amid the fight to control the virus
“The scale of the outbreak is at least two to four times greater than the number of cases we have found,” WHO emergencies director Chikwe Ihekweazu said during a media briefing in Geneva. Many cases are not even registered.
Ihekweazu said WHO received less than half of the $115 million (about €100 million) needed in the first six months to respond to the current outbreak.
“This outbreak requires resources that match the scale of the challenges we face. And this is not a burden the DRC can be allowed to bear alone,” Ihekweazu.
Ihekweazu had just returned from a week-long trip to DR Congo. The outbreak there is concentrated in Ituri province in the northeast and neighboring North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
The WHO official said the spread of the virus in affected areas “continues to be outpaced by the response efforts of national authorities, international partners, including WHO, and the most affected communities.”
“Perhaps the most worrying finding is that many of the newly reported cases are individuals who died in their communities without accessing any health facility and receiving care,” Ihekweazu said.
He said infected people who go to hospital have higher survival rates and WHO is working to fight myths that hospital treatment for the virus is ineffective. In the hospital, patients are highly isolated, given intravenous (IV) fluids to prevent dehydration and given oxygen to aid breathing.
US tightens travel rules for citizens in DR Congo
The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus was first discovered in Uganda. There is no cure or vaccine for this virus, which is often fatal.
Countries around the world are imposing travel rules to prevent the virus from entering their borders.
The United States said on Monday that American citizens in DR Congo will not be able to return home on commercial flights and will have to spend at least 21 days in a third country. Noncitizens who recently visited the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan will not be allowed to travel to the US, Reuters reported, quoting a White House official.
Edited by: Rana Taha
Don’t let algorithms hide news. If you rely on our team for reliable reporting, please take a moment to choose us as your Favorite source on Google, That’s why you’ll always see our verified news first.