BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s Ebola outbreak has topped 11,000 cases, the government said Wednesday, a stark figure that underscores the severity of the situation as the country grapples with the spread of the disease.
According to the latest health ministry data, 11,042 people have been infected with the deadly virus that has now killed 5,387 — nearly half of those infected in what has been Congo’s deadliest outbreak.
The outbreak was declared in mid-May, and since then Congolese authorities have struggled to contain it due to several factors, including armed conflicts, a health system crisis, poor roads and violence from residents fueled by mistrust and misinformation.
The Bundibugyo virus responsible for this outbreak has no known vaccine or treatment and has spread to eight of the country’s 26 provinces.
The resurgence of violence in the two major hot spots in Ituri and North Kivu provinces has sparked worry among health authorities who are calling for a halt to the fighting to allow health workers unhindered access to the sick.
While Ituri accounts for nearly 70% of total cases, North Kivu has emerged as the main site of new transmission, according to Congolese Health Minister Roger Kamba.
Health facilities and medical professionals have also been targeted by many in communities skeptical of the virus, and there have been several attacks on health workers.
On Wednesday, World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern about continuing attacks on health workers, citing two recent attacks that killed four of them. The violence disrupted already limited contact tracing in the hot spots, leaving more than 1,000 contacts lost to follow-up and three unconfirmed cases unaccounted for.
“This appalling attack represents both a major humanitarian emergency and a significant setback to the response,” Ghebreyesus said.
The outbreak has also affected some schools in Ituri, with more teachers contracting the disease. Two head teachers in Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri, told The Associated Press they are worried about their teachers and students after losing members of staff.
“Our students and the entire staff have been left traumatized. At this stage, we need psychologists to support us, as the situation is extremely difficult,” Isaac Singoma, one of the head teachers, said.
Experts have called for more efforts to slow and contain the outbreak in Congo. The disease has spread to multiple African countries including Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria.
Dozens of Ebola outbreaks have been reported since the disease was first discovered in 1976. The largest and deadliest occurred in West Africa in 2014 to 2016, with 28,000 infections and more than 11,000 deaths.
The current outbreak already ranks second and has had at least three times the number of cases and deaths in the time since it was declared, compared with the West Africa outbreak.