The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading quickly, even as response efforts are being scaled up to contain the virus.
On Friday, the UN health agency said it was still struggling to keep pace with the worsening situation in the northeastern part of the country.
“The outbreak remains serious” and is “evolving so fast”, said Marie-Roseline Belizaire, the WHO Africa emergencies chief.
“However, I have seen a response that is growing stronger every day,” she told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Bunia, the capital of the DRC’s Ituri province.
The outbreak, which was officially declared on May 15, is believed to have been circulating undetected for some time before confirmation.
It is being driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no vaccine currently exists.
According to the latest WHO figures, there have been 896 confirmed cases in the DRC, including 232 deaths, with 21 new infections recorded within the past 24 hours.
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More than 90 percent of all cases have been reported in Ituri province, which continues to grapple with ongoing conflict. The virus has also spread to neighbouring North Kivu and South Kivu.
Belizaire noted that the outbreak was progressing so rapidly that containment efforts were continually trying to catch up with the virus, which spreads through close contact and infected bodily fluids.
She said treatment capacity has improved significantly, rising from no available beds at the start of the outbreak to more than 500 currently.
Surveillance teams are now investigating nearly 400 alerts, while testing capacity has increased to over 2,000 tests per day.
Efforts to trace contacts of infected individuals have also expanded, with 75 percent of known contacts currently being reached.
However, the WHO has stressed that 95 percent coverage is needed to effectively control the outbreak.
In neighbouring Uganda, the only other affected country, 19 confirmed cases have been recorded so far, including two deaths, while 10 patients have recovered. Authorities in Uganda have reported no new cases in the past 12 days.