Ebola outbreak in DR Congo may be spreading faster than thought, WHO says

An Ebola outbreak that has killed at least 131 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo may be spreading faster than originally believed, a World Health Organization representative has warned.

Dr. Anne Ancia told the BBC that the more the agency investigates, the clearer it becomes that cases have moved to other areas.

Officials said more than 513 cases were suspected in DR Congo as of Tuesday, while one person has died in neighboring Uganda.

But modeling by the London-based MRC Center for Global Infectious Disease Analysis released on Monday suggested there had been “substantial” under-detection and that it could not rule out more than 1,000 cases already.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who declared the outbreak an international emergency last week, said he was “deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic.”

It is feared the outbreak may have been ongoing for several weeks before it was first detected on April 24.

There is no vaccine for the strain of Ebola virus fueling the latest rise in cases, but the WHO is evaluating whether other drugs may provide protection.

Speaking to BBC World Service Newsday, Ancia said DR Congo’s Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, is a “very unsecured area with lots of movement of population,” making it difficult for the agency to investigate and help control the disease.

She continued: “The more we are investigating this outbreak, the more we realize that it has already disseminated at least a little bit across border and also in other provinces.”

The outbreak has spread to the province of South Kivu, where the population has been affected by a humanitarian crisis for many years, she added.

There has also been a case in eastern DR Congo’s biggest city, Goma, which has a population of around 850,000 people and is under the control of Rwandan-backed rebels.

High levels of insecurity in several provinces mean people move around often, increasing the risk and spread of the virus.

Several African countries are taking precautions by tightening border screenings and preparing health facilities. Neighboring Rwanda has also closed its borders with DR Congo.

An American citizen, believed to be missionary group doctor Peter Stafford, is being evacuated from DR Congo after developing symptoms over the weekend.

Germany’s health ministry told the BBC a U.S. citizen was being taken to the country for treatment.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was working to evacuate at least six other Americans who were exposed.

Ebola is caused by a virus and initially causes symptoms similar to the flu, with fever, headache and tiredness.

The Bundibugyo strain fueling this rise in cases is rare and has previously only caused two outbreaks, when it killed about a third of those infected.

Between 2014 and 2016, more than 28,600 people were infected by Ebola in West Africa, the largest outbreak of the virus since its discovery in 1976.

It was caused by the Zaire strain, for which there is an approved vaccine.

The disease spread to a number of countries in West Africa and beyond, including Guinea, Sierra Leone, the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy, killing 11,325 people.