The head 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 latest number of suspected deaths as 220.
Mongbwalu, a large town in the unstable northeastern province of Ituri, is at the epicentre of the outbreak, which was first detected on May 15. Since then the virus has killed more than 200 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Read moreEbola outbreak raises fears of wider spread in Central Africa
The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, the third-largest such outbreak on record, a public health emergency of international concern. Here are the latest reports on the Ebola outbreak.
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Hospital official says 25 patients fled during two weekend attacks
Doctors operating on the front lines of the fight against Ebola in Congo, already grappling with shortages of basic supplies, are now also having to deal with attacks on their facilities and fleeing patients as the virus spreads rapidly.
At least three such incidents have occurred in the northeastern province of Ituri where the first Ebola cases were reported, including two at the weekend targeting the same hospital that permitted more than two dozen patients to run away.
The attacks recall the widespread violence targeting health facilities during a 2018-2020 outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that killed more than 25 health workers.
Some were perpetrated by civilians who were angry about not being able to bury their loved ones or were convinced that the outbreak was a hoax.
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WHO chief says more than 900 suspected cases as responders 'play catch-up'
Addressing an online meeting of the African Union about the outbreak, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that a delay in detecting Ebola cases meant responders were now "playing catch-up" and the epidemic was likely to get worse before it gets better.
Tedros said he would travel to Congo – the epicentre of the outbreak – on Tuesday with another senior WHO official responsible for addressing health emergencies, Chikwe Ihekweazu.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday there had been more than 900 suspected cases in the outbreak so far, including 101 confirmed cases.
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Two new cases in Uganda
Earlier on Monday neighbouring Uganda reported two more Ebola cases, taking its total number of confirmed cases to seven, and Tedros said other countries bordering Congo were at high risk and should take immediate action.
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Unsafe burials major driver of transmission
Hastily arranged burials of Ebola victims have been met with suspicion in a region already distrustful of the state.
Dr Richard Lokodu, medical director of the Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital, which came under attack first on Saturday and again on Sunday, said perpetrators of attacks on medical facilities were angry about not being able to bury loved ones – some convinced the outbreak was a hoax.
"There is denial of the disease within the population, with some members wanting to claim the bodies of suspected and/or confirmed cases," he said.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)
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