WHO chief says Ebola outbreak in DRC can be stopped

The head of the World Health Organization said the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo can be stopped.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Kinshasa on Thursday evening. He is scheduled to travel on Friday to Ituri province in the northeast, where the epidemic is centered.

“That thing can be stopped,” Tedros said. He added that the WHO does not support travel bans because they “don’t help much.”

“Together, we will overcome this outbreak,” he said earlier, vowing to do “everything in my power to help you.”

The WHO has recorded 10 confirmed and 223 suspected Ebola deaths in the DRC since the outbreak was declared on 15 May. The figures cover more than 1,000 confirmed and suspected cases through 24 May.

The true spread of the virus is likely much wider, the WHO has warned, because it is thought to have circulated undetected for some time.

This is the 17th recorded Ebola outbreak in the DRC, a country of more than 100 million people.

The epidemic is centered in a mineral-rich region contested by armed groups. “Conflict and displacement make everything harder,” Tedros said. “I am making a direct appeal to all warring parties in this region: please, declare a ceasefire. No cause, no conflict, no grievance is worth condemning innocent people to death from a preventable disease.”

No vaccine or treatment yet exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola causing the current outbreak. On Thursday the WHO said its advisory groups had recommended clinical trials for vaccines and treatments.

Jean Kaseya, head of the African Union’s health agency, said on Thursday that a vaccine should be ready by the end of the year.

Uganda, which has recorded one Ebola death and six additional cases, announced it was closing its border with the DRC with immediate effect.

The United States said it would deny entry to anyone infected and was working to open a treatment facility for affected U.S. citizens in Kenya. A Kenyan rights group has gone to court seeking to limit operations at any such facility. Health officials have warned it could burden Kenya’s health system.

Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years. The deadliest outbreak in the DRC claimed nearly 2,300 lives out of 3,500 cases between 2018 and 2020.

The WHO said it had received 4.6 tonnes of aid at the airport in Bunia, capital of Ituri province. Unicef said it was sending 100 tonnes of aid to the DRC.