Congo’s Équateur Province Ebola outbreak alarms health officials
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The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Équateur Province has surpassed the total number of cases recorded during the province’s last outbreak in 2018, according to data reported by WHO.
The outbreak, which was declared on June 1, is the DRC’s 11th. It has spread to six health zones, with 56 reported cases. According to WHO, this is two cases more than the country’s last outbreak in the Équateur Province — what was then the country’s ninth outbreak.
“Responding to Ebola in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is complex, but we must not let COVID-19 distract us from tackling other pressing health threats,” WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti, MBBS, MSc, said in a press release. “The current Ebola outbreak is running into headwinds because cases are scattered across remote areas in dense rain forests. This makes for a costly response as ensuring that responders and supplies reach affected populations is extremely challenging.”
In the first 6 weeks of the outbreak, more than 12,000 people have been vaccinated, a process that began only 4 days into the outbreak, weeks sooner than during the ninth outbreak. WHO reported that additional funding will be needed to scale up and continue the response. So far, $1.75 million has been mobilized to the area, although WHO says this money will last only a few more weeks.
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