On Sunday, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, provided disturbing data: more than 900 suspected cases Ebola virus, 101 of which have been officially confirmed.
The worst situation is in the north-eastern province of Ituri, where the number of suspected cases has increased to 904 sudden jump compared to previous reports of 700 cases.
There are also major discrepancies in mortality data. The DRC Ministry of Communications reported 119 suspected deaths, but aggregate data from individual regions indicate the number of victims may be as high as 220.
Ghost virus. No one noticed him for weeks
Experts warn that fighting the epidemic is extremely difficult. A strain is spreading in Ituri Bundibugyoa rare type of Ebola that affects there is no vaccine available. The virus circulated undetected for weeks because the first tests conducted by authorities focused on a different, more common variant of the virus and returned negative results.
The first death as a result of the current epidemic was reported at the end of April in the city of Bunia, the provincial capital. Since then, the pathogen has managed to spread on a significant scale.
Shots in the hospital. The angry crowd demanded the bodies be handed over
The tragic health situation goes hand in hand with social unrest. On Sunday evening, there were dramatic scenes in one of the hospitals treating Ebola patients. A group of angry young men stormed the facility, demanding the bodies of two loved ones. There was a shootingand terrified medical staff had to evacuate patients and escape.
They are the source of the conflict restrictive burial rules. The authorities ordered that the funerals of the victims must be organized by the state without the participation of their families, because the bodies carry the virus and pose a deadly threat to the participants of the ceremony.
The World Health Organization has officially raised the risk assessment for the Democratic Republic of the Congo to “very high”. Despite the alarming situation in the region, experts reassure that the risk of the disease spreading around the world currently remains low.
