Ebola outbreak; death toll rises in Congo; new cases confirmed in Uganda

At least 220 people are suspected to have died in the ongoing Ebola outbreak, the director-general of the World Health Organization said on Monday, according to Reuters.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said health workers were now “trying to play catch-up” due to delays in detecting cases.

The announcement comes as the number of suspected cases in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 900, and Ugandan health authorities on Monday reported two new cases of Ebola, bringing the number of cases in the country to seven.

All cases are linked to the outbreak in Congo, which appears to have begun days or weeks before authorities there declared an outbreak on May 15.

A 59-year-old Congolese man was admitted to a hospital in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, on May 11 and died three days later before being diagnosed with the Ebola virus. Two other Congolese people who sought treatment in Uganda later tested positive for Ebola.

Ugandan health authorities confirmed the first local infection on Saturday. They are the driver and a medical worker who came into contact with a Congolese patient who died on May 11th. The Ministry of Health announced on Monday that two more health workers had tested positive at a private hospital in Kampala.

Congo has more than 900 suspected cases of Ebola, mainly in the eastern province of Ituri, authorities said Sunday. The number of confirmed infected people is now over 100..

In a region long plagued by armed violence, the response is hampered by local fear, anger and frustration, including attacks on treatment centres, as well as distrust of authorities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

There is no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo Ebola virus that is causing the outbreak, but scientists at the University of Oxford are working to develop a vaccine that could begin clinical trials within “two to three months,” a WHO spokesperson told CBS News Partners Network. BBC News last week.

shooting and evacuation

Angry young men attacked a hospital treating Ebola patients in eastern Congo on Sunday night, forcing medical staff to scramble to evacuate patients as gunfire rang out nearby.

It was not immediately clear whether anyone was injured in the attack on Mombwal General Hospital, but the hospital’s chief medical officer, Dr. Richard Rokdu, told The Associated Press that the attackers had demanded the bodies of two relatives.

Lokdu said by phone that there had been gunfire and health care workers were trying to evacuate patients and staff.

“Mombwal General Hospital is on full alert,” he added. He knew nothing about the details of the unfolding chaos.

The attack was the third in a week on health facilities, highlighting the challenges of the outbreak, as health workers struggle with a lack of resources to treat suspected Ebola patients.

The bodies of people who died from Ebola are highly contagious, and as people prepare for burials or gather for funerals, it could lead to further spread of infection.

In the wake of the outbreak, Congolese authorities have mandated that the dangerous process of burying suspected victims should be supervised as much as possible, a move that could prompt protests from families and friends. On Friday, the government announced a ban on funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people in northeastern Congo to curb the spread of the virus.

On Saturday, a group of residents in Mombwal, Ituri province, They were attacked and their tents were set on fire. It was set up by the humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières for suspected and confirmed Ebola patients.

Rokdu previously said 18 people suspected of having Ebola left the facility during the attack and are now missing.

On Thursday, another treatment center in Rwanpara town was burnt down after the family was barred from collecting the body of a local man suspected of dying of Ebola.

The WHO said the outbreak posed a “very high” risk to Congo, moving it from its previous “high” classification, but said the risk of the disease spreading globally remained low.

Earlier on Sunday, Congo’s communications ministry said the total number of people suspected of having died from Ebola was 119, but the figures released by the ministry separately for each region add up to 220. Officials could not immediately be reached to explain the discrepancy.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies announced on Saturday that three of its volunteers had died in an outbreak in Mongbuwal. The agency said three medical workers were believed to have contracted the virus on March 27 while processing bodies as part of a humanitarian mission unrelated to Ebola.

If confirmed, it would significantly delay the spread of infection.