Ebola outbreak in Congo remains out of control after six months

Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has stated that the Ebola outbreak in Congo remains out of control even after six months have passed. According to information provided by the organisation on 12 November, more than 11,000 cases have been confirmed in this outbreak, but many infections may not have been detected. This outbreak was declared in mid-May and is spreading due to the rare Bundibugyo species of the virus, for which there is currently no approved treatment or vaccine available. This outbreak is becoming the second worst outbreak on record.

Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has held inadequate resources, untrained staff, poor surveillance, and spread within hospitals responsible for this situation. MSF's International President Javed Abdelmomin said on 12 November that despite large amounts of funds being allocated to stop the outbreak, many leading responders are trying to stop this outbreak empty-handed and with empty pockets. He further added that his teams are stunned by the gaps observed in many areas even after a six-month response, and this situation is unacceptable.

MSF has appealed to the Congo government and UN agencies, including the World Health Organization, to ensure that the resources collected directly benefit the people working on the ground. There has been no immediate response from the Congo government to Reuters' queries on this matter.

British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson stated in a briefing on 11 November that case finding is a major challenge. According to Ferguson, Public Health Director at Imperial College London, he believes that only half of the cases currently occurring are being caught. According to his group's estimate, there may currently be 2,000 to 3,000 Ebola patients in Congo. Ferguson warned that this infection could continue for another year and this outbreak could become larger than the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak, in which there were more than 28,600 cases and more than 11,000 deaths.

MSF noted that in various regions of Congo, some of which are conflict zones, there are different challenges. For example, in Ituri province, only 9% of Ebola patients treated by MSF had been in contact with previous cases. In the last month, about two-thirds of the recorded deaths related to Ebola occurred in communities instead of treatment centres. In the Beni health zone of North Kivu, the lack of supplies ranging from water to chlorine is also creating a risk, where it is believed that about three-quarters of Ebola patients were infected from such places.

Citing comments made by World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on 10 November, Reuters reported that WHO acknowledges issues such as delays in payments to health workers. He said that WHO is working with Congo authorities and Africa CDC to strengthen the response, but warned that insecurity, especially attacks on health facilities, has become the biggest obstacle in stopping this outbreak. In an attack that took place last week in the Kanti-Alloya city of North Kivu, 66 civilians, including three health workers, were killed, which is double the death toll previously reported by local authorities.

Ebola is a serious and deadly disease spread by a virus. Symptoms of this disease include sudden fever, weakness, and other severe complications.