Congo running short of health workers as Ebola outbreak spreads, WHO says

Congo is running short of health workers to staff treatment centres for history’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak, particularly in the eastern province of North Kivu where cases have surged 73 per cent over three weeks, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The warning came despite signs of improvement in other provinces, including Ituri, the outbreak’s epicenter. The outbreak has spread to seven provinces, with 7,773 confirmed cases and 3,759 deaths, according to the latest government figures.Between Aug. 31 and Sept. 20, cases fell 26 per cent in Ituri province and 15 per cent in Haut-Uele, said Marie Roseline Belizaire, the WHO’s regional emergency director for Africa. But transmission patterns vary widely and the outbreak remains uncontrolled, she said. 1:56 Health Matters: Ebola outbreak reaches 2 new health zones in DRC “While cases and deaths are declining in some provinces, they continue to rise in others,” Belizaire said. “The outbreak is still not under control and remains spread across a wide geographic area.” Story continues below advertisement The outbreak is spreading under extremely difficult conditions, fueled by insecurity, displacement, a health workers’ st...