Ebola Cases Triple in DRC; WHO Raises Threat Level to ‘Very High’

The World Health Organization on Friday raised its risk assessment for the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to “very high,” warning of rapid spread and deepening concern.

Nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths have been reported, up from 246 cases and 65 deaths a week earlier, according to WHO officials.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the situation as “deeply worrisome.”

On Thursday, a crowd set fire to tents and medical supplies outside a hospital in Rwampara, Ituri province, as medics attempted to set up an Ebola treatment center.

The crowd was reportedly angry that they were not allowed to retrieve the body of a local man who died at the hospital; Ebola patients’ bodies must be buried under strict infection control protocols to prevent further spread.

Tedros warned that “significant distrust of outside authorities among the local population” was hampering the outbreak response.

“Building trust in the affected communities is critical to a successful response, and is one of our highest priorities,” he said.

Dr. Anne Ancia, the WHO’s representative in the DRC, said the incident in Rwampara would “significantly jeopardise” the response operation there.

The attacked treatment center was designed to isolate Ebola patients from others in the same hospital, and Ancia said she hoped it would be operational again within 24 hours.

The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no vaccines or treatments currently exist.

Most cases are in Ituri province, with a handful elsewhere in the DRC and two in neighboring Uganda.

Officials said rising case numbers may paradoxically be a “good sign,” indicating better detection, and a slight fall in the percentage of positive tests suggested more potential cases were being identified.

However, Ancia acknowledged: “We are running behind, we are not yet under control.”

She expressed confidence the response would ultimately succeed: “I can guarantee you that together, we will manage to get over this outbreak as soon as we can.”

The WHO maintained its earlier assessment of high risk at the regional level and low risk globally.

Humanitarian representatives in Ituri said they lacked sufficient resources for an adequate response.

Dr. Amadou Bocoum, country director for Care International in the DRC, said aid cuts last year meant “the system was not able to work properly because of lack of equipment,” and lower staffing made contact tracing harder.

Julie Drouet, country director for Action Against Hunger, added: “Everyone is working to try to implement as quickly as possible … the response in the field, however it is not quite yet ready. It is not really yet up to the emergency that we have in Congo at the moment.”