Kinshasa : The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the actual scale of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could be between two and four times larger than the number of officially confirmed cases due to continued community transmission.
Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said around 80% of newly confirmed cases in the outbreak’s epicentre in Bunia, Ituri Province, are not linked to known cases or contact lists, reflecting the difficulty of tracing chains of transmission and indicating that the outbreak may be more widespread.
He added that government data released on Thursday showed 1,792 confirmed cases and 625 deaths since the outbreak began in mid-May, with around 90% of all reported cases remaining concentrated in Ituri Province.
Ihekweazu said containment efforts have shown progress in some areas, particularly North Kivu Province, where most new infections are linked to contact lists, while the virus has also spread to South Kivu and Tshopo provinces.
He added that around half of those tested for Ebola in Bunia were found to be positive, indicating sustained and widespread community transmission.
