Risk of Ebola spread is high regionally but low globally, WHO says

BUNIA, Congo– The World Health Organization said Wednesday that the risk of Ebola spreading in Congo and Uganda is high nationally and regionally, but low globally.

The risk assessment comes as the head of the WHO team in Congo said the outbreak, which has led to more than 130 suspected deaths, could last at least two more months as aid efforts intensify to stem the spread.

The WHO has declared the Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, requiring a coordinated response. On Tuesday, he expressed concern about the “scale and speed” of the epidemic.

Worried residents in eastern Congo have reported rising prices for masks and disinfectants following the outbreak of a rare type of Ebola, known as the Bundibugyo virus. It spread undetected for weeks after the first known death, while authorities conducted tests for another, more common Ebola virus that came back negative, health experts and aid workers said. There are no approved medications or vaccines against Bundibugyo virus.

So far, 51 cases have been confirmed in Congo’s northern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, as well as two in Uganda, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday. Beyond that, there are 139 suspicious deaths and nearly 600 suspected cases, it said.

“We know the scale of the epidemic is much greater,” he said. “We expect these numbers to continue to increase.”

Congo was awaiting shipments from the United States and Britain of an experimental vaccine against different types of Ebola, developed by Oxford researchers, Jean-Jacques Muyembe, a virus expert at the National Institute of Biomedical Research, told reporters on Tuesday.

“We will administer the vaccine and see who develops the disease,” he said.

A US national who tested positive for the virus in Congo arrived in Berlin on Wednesday to be treated in a special isolation room at Charité hospital.

A “thorough review” is underway to determine how to proceed with the treatment, German Health Ministry spokesman Martin Elsässer said. He said he would not comment on the patient’s condition. German authorities and the US CDC have not identified the patient.

Separately, the Christian humanitarian organization Serge said in a statement that one of its doctors – whom it identified as American medical missionary Dr. Peter Stafford – was evacuated from Congo “and is receiving specialized medical treatment” after developing symptoms of Ebola.

In Bunia, the site of the first known death, schools and churches remained open Wednesday, and some residents wore masks in the streets. Residents said masks have become harder to find and some disinfectants previously sold for 2,500 Congolese francs (about $1) now cost up to 10,000 francs ($4.4).

“It’s really sad and painful because we already went through a security crisis, and now Ebola is here too,” said Justin Ndasi, a resident of Bunia. “We must protect ourselves to avoid this epidemic.”

Trish Newport, emergency program manager for humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders, posted on social media that her team in Bunia had identified suspected cases over the weekend at Salama hospital, which does not have an isolation room. They tried in vain to place them in another health facility in Bunia.

“The team called other health facilities to see if they were isolated,” she said. “Every health facility they called said, ‘We’re full of suspected cases. We don’t have room.’ That gives you an idea of ​​how crazy it is right now.

In Mongbwalu, the town at the epicenter of the current outbreak, the border with Uganda remains open and gold mining activities continue, Chérubin Kuku Ndilawa, a local civil society leader, told the Associated Press.

“There is no panic. People continue to lead normal lives, but they are also starting to spread the message,” Ndilawa said, adding that control of the outbreak has been hampered by the lack of public handwashing stations.

“We hope that the appropriate triage and isolation facilities will be installed today, and if that doesn’t happen, we will be completely overwhelmed,” Dr. Richard Lokudu, medical director of Mongbwalu General Hospital, told the AP.

“The challenge is that the staff is not trained to deal with suspected cases. We are also understaffed. The hospital has its current staff, yes, but if the cases are confirmed, the hospital is really in danger given the large numbers that could arrive. We have no protection.”

Dr Didier Pay, a doctor at Mongbwalu General Hospital, said his clinic was treating around 30 Ebola patients and a student at the local institute of medical technology died on Wednesday morning.

Health experts said late detection of the virus and mass population movements in affected areas, which already suffer from a pre-existing humanitarian crisis, complicated the response. Parts of eastern Congo are controlled by armed rebels, hampering the delivery of aid.

Congo said the first person died from the virus on April 24 in Bunia, but confirmation did not come for weeks. The body was repatriated to the Mongbwalu health zone, a mining area with a large population.

“This caused an escalation of the Ebola epidemic,” said Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba.

Dr Anne Ancia, head of the WHO team in Congo, said authorities had still not identified “patient zero”. There is a long way to go, she said, adding that funding cuts have had “a marked detrimental effect on humanitarian actors”.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that the Trump administration would “build on” Ebola response efforts by prioritizing funding for 50 emergency clinics in affected areas. The United States has contributed $13 million to the effort so far, and Rubio said more money is coming.

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Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Wilson McMakin in Dakar, Senegal, and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

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