WHO chief heads to Congo as Ebola outbreak strains response

KINSHASA/BUNIA, May 28 (Reuters) – The head of the World Health Organization was travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday where an Ebola outbreak, the third largest on record, is outpacing the world’s response.

Health authorities in Congo and neighbouring countries are scrambling to contain the latest outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no vaccine or treatment. 

The response, which hinges on identifying and isolating potential cases to control the spread of the disease, is weeks, if not months behind the curve and the WHO has declared a public health emergency of international concern.

“16 times, this country has defeated Ebola. The 17th will be no different. But we must act now, together,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X.

RAMPING UP TESTING

Tedros is due to arrive in Kinshasa on Thursday and will then travel to Ituri province in Congo’s northeast, where the first Ebola cases were reported and the virus has been circulating for weeks. 

Already facing a shortage of supplies, doctors there are also tackling attacks on their facilities caused by denial of the disease among some in Congo.

There have been 1,077 suspected cases, of which 121 have been confirmed, according to the latest WHO figures, which also showed 246 suspected deaths from Ebola and 17 confirmed fatalities.

Health experts have warned that the real number of cases and deaths is likely to be much higher. 

WHO said on Thursday it was scaling up testing in Congo in partnership with the country’s national medical research organization.

MONUSCO, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo said it had shipped just under five tonnes of medical cargo to Ituri on Thursday, the latest in a series of flights to deliver supplies.    

However, three humanitarian officials involved in the Ebola response in Congo said that continued restrictions on flights in and out of Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, were hampering operations.

One humanitarian official said that despite promising to grant ad hoc exemptions for aid workers the ministry of transport was not processing them.

The Congolese government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on flight restrictions.

CONTAINMENT MEASURES   

In a bid to curb the spread, countries across the world have rolled out travel-related containment measures.

The United States has temporarily banned the entry of green card holders who have been in Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days.

The U.S. government, which has said it “cannot and will not allow” any cases of Ebola to enter the country, is hoping Kenya will host a facility there to quarantine American citizens who become exposed to the disease. It was not clear on Thursday if Kenya would agree to the request.

Eastern Congo is awash with armed groups, further complicating the response, including in North and South Kivu provinces, which are partially controlled by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.

Tedros has called for a ceasefire in the area in order to contain the Ebola outbreak, saying that ongoing fighting was driving mass displacement and spreading the disease in overcrowded camps.

(Reporting by Emma Farge in Geneva and Giulia Paravicini in Nairobi; Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Toby Chopra)