Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Director Jean Kaseya warned that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo could become the worst in history if not contained soon. He issued the warning during an online meeting of African leaders and international donors in Burundi on Tuesday.
According to government data, confirmed Ebola cases in the DRC have risen to 837, including 196 deaths. Kaseya said tens of thousands of people who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus remain untraced or uncontacted. “Contact tracing is an indicator and a big issue. We are losing track of more than 26,000 people, not knowing where they are or whether they are infecting others,” he told Al Jazeera.
A Red Cross official said the outbreak has not yet peaked. “We fear it could take a year to end this outbreak,” said Bruno Michon, operational manager of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The response is hampered by a lack of treatment centres and community resistance to strict hygiene measures. More than a month after the outbreak was declared, the true scale remains unknown. Ebola victims' bodies are highly infectious after death, and unsafe traditional burial rituals are a major transmission route.
According to Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye, who also chairs the African Union, the continent has raised less than one-fifth of the $518 million needed to strengthen containment measures. The shortfall raises alarm among authorities, as the virus could cause devastating consequences if not brought under control soon.
No treatment or vaccine has been approved for this Ebola strain. The World Health Organization said it could take up to nine months for a vaccine to be ready. In neighbouring Uganda, 19 cases have been recorded, including 14 from the DRC, and two deaths have been reported.
