The Ebola outbreak in DRC is spreading into new areas stated WHO experts on Thursday, suggesting there are many ‘blind spots’ in the outbreak. Much more needs to be done to get rid of the virus with the number of isolation beds available to accommodate infected patients. As of now there are only 250 beds in Congo.
“There are still many blind spots in some areas that are high risk,” Olivier le Polain, a WHO epidemiologist in Beni, eastern Congo, said. He asserted that the outbreak continues to expand both in terms of geographic and numerical terms. Speaking from Beni in North Kivu, Polain said that the new cases were being identified across the different health zones everyday.
Appreciating efforts in contact tracing Polain pressed the need for appropriate control. “There’s a lot more that needs to be done across the board: more supplies to ensure that we’ve got safe spaces to isolate patients. Surveillance can scale up, but if you don’t have any space to put your patients safely, it becomes very difficult,” he added.
Since the outbreak was declared on May 15, there have been 676 confirmed Ebola cases, including 136 deaths in the DRC, according to the latest figures from the WHO. There are a further 119 suspected cases, while 32 patients have recovered. Beside Ituri province which is the epicentre, cases are also detected in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. The virus has crossed borders into Uganda, he outbreak has also spread across the border into Uganda, which has recorded 19 confirmed cases, including two deaths.