© UNOCHA The Ebola outbreak has affected six provinces and 55 health zones in DR Congo. The Bundibugyo virus outbreak in DR Congo is spreading faster than any previous Ebola epidemic. Healthcare
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Tuesday that the Ebola epidemic, caused by the rapid spread of the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has not yet been contained and continues to pose a serious threat to international health.
Speaking at the second meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, the WHO chief said the situation had worsened significantly over the past three months. According to him, the outbreak is spreading faster than any previous Ebola epidemic and has already become the second largest in history.
According to WHO, the number of infected people has approached five thousand people, and the number of deaths has exceeded 2.3 thousand. The disease has affected six provinces and 55 health zones in DR Congo. The outbreak has surpassed all previous Ebola outbreaks in the DRC in terms of deaths. According to him, the spread of infection is facilitated by armed conflict and mass population movements.
WHO is particularly concerned about the fact that many patients die outside of medical facilities and that in such cases contacts with other infected people are not traced. That is, we are talking about the existence of unknown chains of transmission of the virus.
“Every such death means a transmission route that we have not yet discovered. Until every chain is identified and interrupted, the epidemic will continue,” said the WHO Director-General.
He warned of the continued risk of international spread of the disease. Uganda has managed to stop further transmission of the virus after the infection initially entered the country. Last month, an infected traveler brought the virus to France. According to Tedros, this case demonstrated that national borders can only slow the spread of the disease, but not stop it completely.Additional concern among humanitarian workers is the resistance of some of the local population to anti-epidemic measures. As noted by WHO representative Thierno Balde, almost every day specialists face a negative reaction from local communities. attack on one of the ambulances involved in the fight against the epidemic. According to him, this incident is not an isolated incident. he.
Working with motorcycle taxi drivers
One of the key elements of the updated WHO strategy was strengthening interaction with local communities. The organization focuses on involving residents in the system of early detection of cases of the disease and response to them. Particular attention is paid to motorcycle taxi driver associations, which play an important role in the daily life of the affected areas. They are often the ones transporting sick people and bodies of the dead, making them one of the most vulnerable groups of the population.
To reduce risks, drivers have already been provided with hand-washing stations and disinfectants. Now the authorities and international partners intend to involve them in the epidemiological surveillance system, that is, to “transform” motorcycle drivers into assistants to monitoring and response services. If they are transporting a person with suspicious symptoms, they can promptly report this to surveillance services so that the patient is examined and, if necessary, isolated.
WHO emphasizes that such work is carried out on a voluntary basis. Experts try to explain to people the need for cooperation not only to protect society as a whole, but also for the safety of their own families. According to international experts, it is the trust of the population and the active participation of local communities that can become one of the decisive factors in the fight against the outbreak.