Ebola outbreak in DRC on track to eclipse West Africa epidemic: WHO

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is “on track to eclipse” the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic at its current pace, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday at a media briefing in Geneva that the outbreak is already the second-biggest Ebola epidemic on record and is spreading faster than any previous outbreak.

Officially, 4,449 confirmed cases and 2,061 deaths have been reported in five provinces and 53 health zones, he said.

About 90 percent of cases and 80 percent of deaths are concentrated in Ituri province, with sustained transmission in Bunia, Rwampara, Nizi and Lita.

Tedros said a high proportion of deaths are occurring in communities rather than treatment centres and outside known contact lists, indicating unidentified chains of transmission.

The WHO and its partners are scaling up surveillance and aiming to raise contact tracing from around 80 to 95 percent, while treatment capacity is expected to triple to 3,000 beds within 12 weeks.