The pinnacle of the World Health Organization said on Monday that the fast-moving Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda was outpacing response efforts, giving the newest variety of suspected deaths as 220.
Addressing a web-based meeting of the African Union concerning the outbreak, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a delay in detecting Ebola cases meant responders were now “playing catch-up” and the epidemic was prone to worsen before it gets higher.
Tedros said he would travel to Congo – the epicenter of the outbreak – on Tuesday with one other senior WHO official liable for addressing health emergencies, Chikwe Ihekweazu.
Earlier on Monday neighboring Uganda reported two more Ebola cases, taking its total variety of confirmed cases to seven, and Tedros said other countries bordering Congo were at high risk and will take immediate motion.
The WHO has declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola a public health emergency of international concern.
Tedros said containing the fast-moving outbreak was complicated by the proven fact that Congo’s Ituri and North Kivu provinces were highly insecure and there have been no approved vaccines for Bundibugyo virus.