The World Health Organisation has mapped out its response to the “rapidly evolving” Bundibugyo virus behind the Ebola outbreak, which continues to worsen
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced it is “implementing response measures” as the Ebola death toll swells in certain African countries.
WHO’s May 29 statement warned about the “rapidly evolving virus” which has spread across the globe. It comes as charities dubbed the situation “deeply alarming” in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
“The Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda continues to evolve rapidly, with increasing case numbers, geographic spread, and ongoing cross-border transmission,” wrote WHO officials in the recent release.
In DRC – where the outbreak has hit the hardest – there have been 906 suspected cases and 223 deaths.
Across Uganda and DRC there have been an additional 55 suspected deaths since the last update on May 21.
The release mapped out WHO’s response “including deployment of rapid response teams, delivery of medical supplies, strengthened surveillance, laboratory confirmation, infection prevention and control, the set-up of safe and optimised treatment centres, and community engagement.”
Yesterday, medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières’ deputy director Dr Alan Gonzales said never before had “so many [Ebola] cases” been recorded so soon.
“Two weeks after the declaration of the Ebola disease outbreak in Ituri Province, the situation is deeply alarming,” Gonzalez said in a statement on Saturday.
“Never before has an Ebola outbreak recorded so many cases so soon after its declaration,” he said, stressing his teams on the ground were “witnessing a response that has not yet caught up to the rapid spread of the epidemic”.
“The reality today is that nobody knows the true scale and severity of this outbreak. New suspected cases are being reported daily, yet hundreds of samples remain untested.”
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected individual, including blood, vomit, diarrhoea, saliva, urine, semen and sweat. It can also be contracted by touching objects contaminated with these fluids, such as needles, bedding or clothing.
Patients diagnosed with Ebola need to be quarantined in hospital, with treatment focusing on symptom management – such as assistance with breathing and intravenous fluids to prevent dehydration – according to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).