Congo's Health Minister announced the opening of three treatment centers in the Ituri region of eastern Congo on Sunday evening while visiting the region amid an ongoing Ebola outbreak, UNN reports, citing AP.
Details
"We know that hospitals are already overwhelmed with patients," said Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba during a visit to Bunia, the capital and largest city of Ituri. "But we are preparing to set up treatment centers in all three locations to be able to expand our capacity."
The World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday following more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths in Congo and two in neighboring Uganda. While the outbreak is centered in Ituri, cases have been reported in the capital Kinshasa and in Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo.
In particular, at least six Americans were exposed to the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, international humanitarian sources told CBS News, though it is unclear if any of them were infected.
WHO declares Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda an international emergency17.05.26, 07:05
In a separate statement on X on Sunday, the WHO Regional Office for Africa said a team of 35 experts from the WHO and the Congolese Ministry of Health arrived in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, along with 7 tons of emergency medical supplies and equipment.
Ebola is highly contagious and can be transmitted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen. The disease it causes is rare but severe and often fatal.
Jean Kaseya, Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, told Sky News on Sunday: "Right now I am in panic mode because people are dying, I have no medicine, I have no vaccine to support the countries. Yesterday I called for a meeting of all partners, we have some candidate vaccines, some candidate medicines, we are moving in that direction. We hope to have something in the coming weeks."
Ebola outbreak in Congo causes alarm due to war and lack of vaccine – BBC18.05.26, 06:33
Health authorities say the current outbreak, first confirmed on Friday, is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, a rare variant of Ebola for which there are no approved treatments or vaccines. While there have been more than 20 Ebola outbreaks in Congo and Uganda, this is only the third time the Bundibugyo strain has been detected.
The Bundibugyo strain was first detected in the Bundibugyo district of Uganda during a 2007-2008 outbreak that infected 149 people and killed 37. The second occurrence was in 2012 during an outbreak in Isiro, Congo, where 57 cases and 29 deaths were reported.