A Red Cross official said on Tuesday that the Ebola epidemic in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo had not yet peaked, voicing fear it could last for a year.
"It's very difficult to know exactly to what extent the epidemic is spreading ... but yes, the peak is, I think, not behind us, but in front of us," Bruno Michon, operations manager for the Ebola outbreak for The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told reporters by video link from eastern Congo.
"We are afraid that this could last one year to end this disease.”
The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Democratic Republic of Congo has increased to 808, including 192 deaths, government data showed on Monday.
The number represented the total number of confirmed cases as of Sunday, according to a situation report that documented 26 new cases and 11 new deaths in the previous 24 hours.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has warned the window for containing the outbreak was narrowing. The worst outbreak was in West Africa in 2014-2016 and it killed more than 11,000 people.
“Diagnostics, surveillance, access to care, and community engagement must be urgently strengthened,” said Frederic Lai Manantsoa, MSF’s emergency coordinator in DRC.
