WHO raises Ebola risk in Congo to ‘very high’, the maximum level

A World Health Organization (WHO) raised the risk level of ebo epidemicla in the Democratic Republic of Congo from “high” to “very high” (the maximum level) this Friday (22), announced its director. The organization kept the risk level unchanged on a regional and global scale.

“The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is spreading rapidly,” declared WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press conference.

“Previously, WHO had assessed the risk as high at the national and regional level, and low at the global level. We are now revising our risk assessment to classify it as very high at the national level, high at the regional level and low at the global level,” he added.

“Very high” means “the highest level of risk”, a WHO spokesperson explained to AFP.

A epidemic spread across the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, divided by the front line between Congolese forces and the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group, which has occupied large swaths of territory since 2021.

Faced with this situation, the health response is difficult and has led to scenes of chaos in Ituri, the epicenter of the epidemic, where the sent additional personnel.

Until now, “82 cases have been confirmed, including seven deaths” in DRCsaid Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding that there are approximately 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths in the country.

The situation in Uganda is currently “stable, with two confirmed cases and one death reported”, he said.

O Ebola causes a deadly hemorrhagic feverbut the virus, which caused more than 15 thousand deaths in Africa in the last 50 years, it is less contagious than covid-19 or measles.

In the absence of a vaccine and an authorized treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus responsible for the current outbreak, efforts to contain its spread through containment measures and rapid case detection.