WHO confirms 1,000 Ebola cases, 220 death in DR Congo

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reported nearly 1,000 cases and 220 deaths,

In neighbouring Uganda, health authorities have reported seven confirmed cases linked to the outbreak, including two healthcare workers and one confirmed death.

The WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, that Ebola Bundibugyo virus outbreak in Ituri province was spreading in an environment where insecurity, attacks on health facilities and population movements were making it “nearly impossible” to trace contacts and isolate cases.

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“We cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling,” he said.

The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, first identified in Uganda in 2007, has no approved vaccine or treatment.

WHO, however, warned that the outbreak was continuing to spread geographically, with evidence of ongoing cross-border transmission.