The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to escalate, with confirmed infections now topping 6,000 and the death toll reaching 2,911, according to government figures. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, has spread to around 60 zones in six provinces, raising fears that the virus is outpacing efforts to contain it. "Around 60 health zones are now affected, every week more are added to the list.
And the same pattern is repeated everywhere: initially, there is resistance and denial, followed by gradual acceptance," DW correspondent Jonas Gerding reported from Bunia, the capital of the Ituri province, the epicenter of the latest Ebola outbreak in Congo. "Unfortunately, a lot more people will die until this Ebola outbreak gets under control," he added. Health experts have said the situation is particularly worrying in eastern Congo, where conflict and insecurity are making it harder for response teams to reach affected communities.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "This outbreak is the fastest-growing Ebola epidemic on record. It is growing faster and wider than the response to contain it, but it can be stopped," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told journalists last week. The United Nations has appealed for more funding as humanitarian agencies struggle to keep pace with the increasing number of cases.
"International attention, political focus and resources are still lagging behind the reality unfolding on the ground," Guterres said, warning that the world "must also overcome another virus — the virus of indifference." As researchers continue trials aimed at developing a licensed vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain, Congolese authorities have rolled out a vaccination campaign focused on front-line health workers. The vaccine was originally developed for a different Ebola variant, but officials hope it will provide some protection against the current outbreak. Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said more than 50,000 doses had already arrived in the country.
"We will cover all the provinces that are around Ituri, moving in a ring towards the center of the outbreak, that is to say towards Ituri. But we have enough doses for all healthcare providers," he said on August 28. Some health workers remain confident despite uncertainty over how effective the vaccine will be against the Bundibugyo strain.
"It is a vaccine that has already proven itself. We are talking about Ebola Bundibugyo, of Ugandan origin. But the vaccine that they want to administer to us was the vaccine that had succeeded for the Zaire type," said health worker Arnaud Batumbu.
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