The Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now killing a victim every 30 minutes, a top UN humanitarian official said Friday, calling for greater international action.
“The outbreak is the fastest growing on record,” Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said in a statement. “We need speed, scale and solidarity before this virus gets even further ahead of us.”
The outbreak has killed at least 2,128 people out of more than 4,500 confirmed cases since being declared in the DRC on May 15 and the UN has already said it is on course to become the deadliest Ebola eruption ever.
“Ebola is winning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We cannot let the virus outrun our response,” Fletcher said as he outlined the latest efforts to contain the virus, which spreads through contact with bodily fluids and causes a hemorrhagic fever.
“The epidemic is killing someone every 30 minutes,” he said, also warning that “many more people are at risk.”
Fletcher said countries had now donated nearly $300 million to a fund to combat the outbreak.
After a meeting of UN agencies, he said he had allocated another $30.5 million from an emergency UN fund, which would be added to $24 million already allocated to help the DRC and four other countries to tackle the outbreak.
Cases have been reported in six DRC provinces, as well as Uganda. Cases have also been reported near the border with South Sudan. Fletcher said 20 extra staff had been sent to the Ebola “frontlines” but that more was required.
“We need to double the number of teams ensuring safe and dignified burials, triple the treatment capacity, improve contact tracing, and deploy more experienced managers,” said Fletcher. “Crucially, we must meet the immense needs for water, hygiene, health care and other basic services in the region.”
He said: “The world needs to wake up, and show up.”
This 17th outbreak of Ebola is caused by the Bundibugyo strain for which there is no known treatment or vaccine. Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years. The deadliest Ebola outbreak from 2018 to 2020 killed nearly 2,300 people out of 3,500 recorded cases.
