At least 131 people are believed to have died and 531 suspected to have been infected, according to the Congolese Health Ministry. An American missionary was among those who tested positive for the deadly disease.

Outbreak of rare strain complicates response

Global health experts are worried about the capacity of this outbreak to cause widespread illness and death in central Africa — not least because this rare strain of Ebola, the Bundibugyo virus, has no approved vaccine or treatment and a shortage of available tests.

El director general de la OMS, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, citó datos según los cuales se han registrado más de 500 casos sospechosos en la República Democrática del Congo en las últimas semanas, además de 33 casos confirmados. En Uganda se han registrado dos casos confirmados. El brote ha causado un total de 131 muertes.

La OMS ha aprobado una financiación de emergencia de 3,9 millones de dólares para ayudar a las autoridades nacionales en su respuesta al brote. La OMS declaró el brote como emergencia de salud pública el domingo, y Estados Unidos emitió una advertencia urgente sobre los viajes a la República Democrática del Congo poco después, el lunes.

Conflict and funding shortages hinder containment

The outbreak was also undetected for weeks, adding to the complexities in containing it. It has ripped through a region riven by civil war and conflict, while health officials said funding shortages were further hampering their ability to fight Ebola.

Most cases have been in towns core to the region’s gold-mining industry, which necessitates cross-border travel. The State Department said that it was ‘strongly’ urging Americans not to travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan or Uganda ‘for any reason.’

The State Department also said in a statement on Tuesday that the U.S. is going to fund up to 50 Ebola response clinics. ‘The United States is committing to rapidly supporting the Ebola outbreak response by funding up to 50 treatment clinics, and associated frontline costs being established in Ebola-affected regions of the DRC and Uganda,’ the State Department said. ‘This U.S. funding commitment will accelerate the delivery of frontline medical care, life-saving humanitarian assistance, and critical outbreak response capabilities to communities at greatest risk,’ it added.

Urban cases raise fears of wider spread

Hay varios factores que han llevado a la OMS a preocuparse por la posibilidad de que la enfermedad siga propagándose, como los casos registrados en zonas urbanas, entre ellas Kampala (Uganda) y Goma (República Democrática del Congo), así como en la provincia de Ituri, afectada por el conflicto.

The virus can propagate through direct contact with infected people, bodily fluids, infected corpses, and objects contaminated with the virus. The Department of State warns that Ebola is a ‘rare, severe and often fatal hemorrhagic disease.’

El Gobierno de EE. UU. no puede prestar servicios de emergencia a los ciudadanos estadounidenses en la provincia de Ituri. ‘No viajes a esta zona bajo ningún concepto,’ señalaba el aviso.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said early Tuesday that he was ‘deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic.’