The Ebola outbreak in Africa is still spreading, an official with the World Health Organization (WHO) told reporters on July 7 from Congo, the outbreak’s epicenter.
“It is still in the expansion phase, unfortunately,” Anne Ancia, WHO’s representative to Congo, told reporters from Bunia. “We would like to say it is stabilizing but, frankly, we cannot say it yet.”
The number of confirmed cases in the outbreak is up to 1,581, and the number of confirmed deaths is up to 526, according to authorities in Congo and Uganda. At least 253 people have recovered.
The outbreak was detected in Congo, a central African country of about 109 million people, in May.
“The outbreak unfortunately continues to expand, and its true scale has not yet been fully established,” Ancia said during the briefing on Tuesday.
That’s partly because not all contacts of confirmed cases are being followed up on, officials have said.
“We are strengthening our investigation and history of each and every case so we can really understand the chain of transmission, and making sure we have isolated every suspected case,” Ancia said.
Another issue is the lack of available space in treatment centers. The 22 current facilities have 700 beds, but they are operating at around 90 percent occupancy. Authorities are working on adding 300 additional beds in the facilities.
A third issue is the movement of population within Congo, which has ongoing conflicts and people shifting residences to find work.
Ancia said that some people who go to work in Ituri Province are getting sick and opting against treatment because they want to go home and be with their loved ones. Those people have been infecting others as they travel or later seek treatment, the WHO official said.
“It’s really those people who are coming back, and coming back too late, they go to their family, they go to die with their family,” Ancia said.
A number of healthcare workers also went on strike this week because they had not been paid. Negotiations resulted in a portion of those workers resuming work, according to the WHO, but negotiations are ongoing with others.
The briefing took place after enrollment started in Congo for a trial of experimental treatments from U.S.-based companies Mapp Biopharmaceutical and Gilead Sciences. Australia-based Island Pharmaceuticals also said Tuesday that Ugandan authorities had approved its drug galidesivir for compassionate use amid the outbreak.
