Ebola outbreak in DRC is ‘spreading rapidly’ with almost 750 suspected cases: WHO chief

(ABC NEWS) — The Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is “spreading rapidly,” the head of the World Health Organization warned during a press briefing on Friday.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the U.N. health agency has upgraded its risk assessment for spread at the national level from “high” to “very high.” At the regional level, the risk remains “high” while the global level is still “low.”

There have been almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths from Ebola in the DRC, the WHO said in a post on X.

So far, at least 82 cases of Ebola have been confirmed in DRC as well as seven deaths, but Tedros said “we know the epidemic in the DRC is much larger.”

Ghebreyesus described the situation in Uganda as “stable” with two cases confirmed in people who traveled from the DRC, with one death, though he confirmed three new cases on Saturday morning.

The epicenter of the current outbreak is in a “highly insecure” area — the DRC’s eastern provinces of North Kivu and Ituri — where ongoing armed conflict has sparked a displacement crisis, according to Tedros.

The WHO chief also acknowledged a “security incident” that took place Thursday in Ituri in which “medical tents and supplies were set on fire.” He noted that building trust in the local communities is “critical.”

The WHO’s representative in the DRC, Dr. Anne Ancia, who appeared from the field via video link during the press briefing, said Thursday’s incident “significantly jeopardized” the Ebola response operations her team is trying to initiate in the hotspot area.

She noted that there is still very low contact tracing in Ituri, particularly the city of Bunia, but that there was better contact tracing happening in North Kivu.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control warned Saturday that 10 other countries on the continent were at risk from the deadly outbreak.

Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa CDC, said in a virtual briefing that Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia are now facing elevated transmission risk because of “cross-border population movement.” He stressed the need for “preparedness, rapid detection, and regional coordination” to prevent further spread.

To that end, Kaseya unveiled a $314 million plan with the WHO to contain the outbreak, saying the six-month joint strategy would cover all 55 African Union member states, with most of the budget allocated to Ebola response efforts in the DRC and Uganda.

So far, one American has contracted Ebola in relation to the outbreak. Dr. Peter Stafford tested positive after treating patients in the eastern DRC.

He was evacuated to Germany and is currently being treated at Charite University Hospital in Berlin in an isolation ward, the hospital said.

Stafford’s wife and children, who are considered high-risk contacts, are also at the hospital and are currently in quarantine in a separate section of ward. The family is symptom free, according to the hospital.

The hospital said that Stafford does not currently require intensive care but is “severely weakened” from his illness.