The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has urged this Saturday to strengthen cooperation between humanitarian and health organizations and the Executive of the Democratic Republic of Congo during his trip to Ituri, the province most affected by the current Ebola outbreak.
In a message disseminated on his social networks, Adhanom stressed that, "During our discussions, we agreed that a key priority for responding to the outbreak is to improve coordination among all health and humanitarian actors, ensuring that their operations align with the overall leadership of the Government in managing this response."
Within the framework of this visit, the WHO official met with General Johnny Luboya, governor of Ituri, to assess the evolution of the outbreak on the ground, a situation he described as "further complicated by internal conflict and significant population displacement."
Adhanom also emphasized that, "I emphasized to the WHO and our partners in Ituri the importance of actively listening to and supporting the community. The local population is best equipped to articulate their needs and identify effective solutions to contain the outbreak."
The most recent WHO report warns that the epidemic outbreak "continues to evolve rapidly" and already shows an increase in its geographical spread, as well as cases of cross-border transmission to Uganda.
The current focus, caused by the Bundibugyo variant—for which there are still no authorized vaccines or specific therapies—, adds up to 134 confirmed infections and 18 deaths, while 906 suspected cases and 223 associated deaths remain under investigation.
In the last seven days, the UN health agency has detected a worsening of the scenario after verifying 49 new infections and eight additional deaths compared to the previous count. To these figures are added 160 possible infections and 47 probable deaths that continue to be studied.
The WHO has also reported the confirmation of a case outside of Africa: an American citizen who was infected after treating patients in Congo and is being treated in Germany.
In contrast to previous health emergencies, authorities now face greater obstacles in curbing the spread of the virus, as the Bundibugyo strain has scarce diagnostic tools in the area. This lack of specific tests hinders the early detection of those affected and delays the response on the ground.