Why this matters
- The third largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded.
- Most new infections come from unknown transmission chains.
- The virus has spread beyond the original outbreak area.
- Early detection and global support are essential.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva after returning from Bunia, in Ituri province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, at the center of the outbreak, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said that with nearly 2,000 confirmed cases and more than 700 deaths in five provinces as of July 11, the current outbreak is the third largest ever recorded.
“We have seen the fastest growth in a single month since the outbreak began and of all the Ebola outbreaks we have handled,” he said.
“In recent days, we have seen some of the highest numbers of new infections in a single day,” Dr Ihekweazu added, including more than 80 confirmed cases in 24 hours.
Known unknowns
Many of the newly reported deaths are people who died in their communities without even reaching a health center or receiving care, which is what the WHO official described as “the most alarming finding.”
Despite advances in diagnosis and high rates of contact tracing, “80 percent of new cases are outside our contact lists and therefore reach us from unknown chains of transmission,” Dr. Ihekweazu warned.
The current outbreak was declared almost exactly two months ago and WHO models indicate that its scale could be “at least two to four times” the number of reported cases.
“You have to imagine this is a fire,” Dr. Ihekweazu said. “There’s something lighting the fire in your heart and it’s also expanding at the same time.”
While up to 95 percent of all new Ebola cases come from Ituri province, where the outbreak began, very recently the virus has spread to two new provinces, Haut-Uele and Tshopo.
The WHO official outlined a two-pronged strategy for the response: continue to press at the heart of the outbreak in Ituri while also “understanding the travel routes… and really mapping out where the risks are of new cases emerging.”
Urging the international community not to “be discouraged” by the rapid spread of the disease, the WHO official insisted the work was paying off.
“Now is not the time to drop the ball,” he warned.
Therapeutic trials in progress
Clinical trials are underway with several therapies, but there is still no approved treatment for patients with the Bundibugyo species of Ebola. Still, the chances of survival increase significantly with early supportive care.
“We need to find cases earlier, treat them as soon as possible” to reduce community transmission and avoid being left behind, Dr. Ihekweazu said.
When asked about recent attacks on healthcare workers and facilities, he explained that the solution lies in “being open and transparent” about the care being provided.
“Before any new center opens, we invite community leaders to see what is being done” and to talk to health care providers who have left their homes to support the response, he said.
Preventing attacks on healthcare depends on building community trust in new facilities and showing people that “They will not be left alone: they will not only receive treatment, they will be offered food and have access to their families.”.
As the fight to stop the spread of Ebola continues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dr. Ihekweazu spoke of “dissonance between the threats we face and the efforts we are making to respond.”
“We need the world to come together, not just out of charity or support for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but in our own interest. The more we do now, the better positioned we will be in the future,” he emphasized.
The WHO official mentioned that at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Member States are negotiating the key part of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) annex, which aims to ensure that genetic information on dangerous pathogens with pandemic potential is shared quickly and that vaccines and treatments are made available to developing countries.
