Geneva, July 14 (SANA) The World Health Organization warned Tuesday that the Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading at the fastest rate ever recorded, with the majority of new infections coming from unknown chains of transmission.
Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva after returning from Bunia in Ituri Province, the outbreak’s epicenter, that confirmed cases had reached nearly 2,000 as of July 11, with over 700 deaths across five provinces, making it the third-largest Ebola outbreak in history, according to the UN News Centre.
“We’ve seen the fastest growth in a single month since the outbreak started and of all the Ebola outbreaks that we have managed,” Ihekweazu said.
More than 80 cases in a single day
Over the past few days, some of the highest single-day infection numbers have been recorded, including more than 80 confirmed cases within 24 hours, he added.
Many of the newly reported deaths are people who died in their communities without ever reaching a health facility or receiving care — described by the WHO official as “the most alarming finding.”
Despite progress on diagnostics and high contact-tracing rates, “80 per cent of new cases are outside our contact lists and so are coming to us from unknown chains of transmission,” Ihekweazu warned.
Outbreak may be two to four times larger
WHO modelling indicates the outbreak’s true scale could be “at least two to four times” the number of reported cases.
“You have to imagine that this is a fire,” Ihekweazu said. “There’s something driving the fire in its heart, and it’s also expanding at the same time.”
While up to 95 per cent of new cases still originate in Ituri Province, the virus has recently spread to two additional provinces, Haut-Uele and Tshopo.
Two-pronged response strategy
Ihekweazu outlined a dual response strategy: continuing to contain the outbreak in Ituri while understanding travel routes and mapping areas most at risk of new cases.
He urged the international community “not to become despondent” and stressed that efforts are achieving results, but “now is not the time to drop the ball.”
Although several therapeutics are undergoing clinical trials, no approved treatment yet exists for the Bundibugyo strain. However, early supportive care significantly improves survival rates, Ihekweazu said. “We must find the cases earlier, bring them into care as soon as possible.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo is experiencing one of the fastest and most dangerous Ebola outbreaks in history, its 17th since the virus was first identified in 1976. The outbreak was declared on May 15 after the disease had spread undetected for weeks. The virus has now spread to five provinces—Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo and Haut-Uele —and has also reached neighboring Uganda.
The Bundibugyo strain, responsible for the current outbreak, is a rare variant for which no approved vaccine or specific treatment exists. Ebola is a severe viral hemorrhagic fever transmitted between humans through direct contact with bodily fluids. Early symptoms include sudden high fever, severe fatigue, headache and muscle pain, progressing to vomiting and internal and external bleeding in advanced cases.
Kh.A / H.H
