Suspected Ebola cases triple in a week as WHO warns of rapid spread in DRC

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo poses a “very high” risk to the country, the World Health Organization said on Friday, revising its threat assessment upwards. The outbreak is spreading rapidly, WHO leaders said, with almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, up from 246 cases and 65 deaths when it was first reported a week earlier. The situation is “deeply worrisome”, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general.

On Thursday, tents and medical supplies outside a hospital in Rwampara, Ituri province, were set on fire as medics tried to set up an Ebola treatment centre. A crowd was reportedly angry at not being allowed to retrieve the body of a local man who had died at the hospital. The bodies of Ebola patients must be buried according to strict infection control protocols to prevent further spread. Medical staff carry disinfectant to a hospital in Rwampara on 21 May. An Ebola treatment centre at the hospital was attacked on Thursday. “Building trust in the affected communities is critical to a successful response, and is one of our highest priorities,” Tedros said. The WHO’s representative in the DRC, Dr Anne Ancia, said the incident in Rwampara would “significantly jeopardise” the response operation there. The treatment centre that was attacked was designed to separate Ebola patients from others being treated in the same hospital. Ancia said she was hopeful that it would be able to be up and running again within 24 hours. The outbreak has been caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no vaccines or treatments exist. Most cases are in the DRC’s Ituri province, with a handful reported elsewhere in the country, and two in neighbouring Uganda. Rising case numbers may paradoxically be a “good sign”, indicating better detection, officials said.

Key points

• On Thursday, tents and medical supplies outside a hospital in Rwampara, Ituri province, were set on fire as medics tried to set up an Ebola treatment centre.
• A crowd was reportedly angry at not being allowed to retrieve the body of a local man who had died at the hospital.
• The bodies of Ebola patients must be buried according to strict infection control protocols to prevent further spread.
• Medical staff carry disinfectant to a hospital in Rwampara on 21 May.
• An Ebola treatment centre at the hospital was attacked on Thursday.