The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a dire warning of a “catastrophic collision” as the Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is exacerbated by regional conflict. The Bundibugyo strain of the virus – for which there is no vaccine or treatment – has already killed 220 people in the country.
In the east, mainly the Ituri Province, more than 900 cases are suspected. This region of the country is home to nearly one million displaced people amid conflict between militant groups, some of which have links to foreign countries or ISIS. WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the eastern DRC “now faces a catastrophic collision of disease and conflict with the Ebola outbreak in Ituri province outpacing the response”.
He wrote on X: “Stopping this Ebola transmission depends entirely on humanitarian access. Yet ongoing clashes are driving mass displacement, pushing exposed contacts into overcrowded camps and severing critical containment corridors.
“Frontline workers are risking everything, while attacks on health facilities make tracking cases and their contacts nearly impossible.
“We cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling. We urge all warring parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire to contain this outbreak.
“To allow us safe and sustained access for medical teams. We plea to prioritise human survival above everything else.”
In Europe, two suspected cases of Ebola were detected earlier this week. The two patients have developed symptoms such as high fever, nausea and vomiting, and have been rushed to hospital for treatment.
The suspected cases were reported in northern Italy, with health authorities confirming that a 31-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman developed symptoms of the virus after returning from Uganda.
As reported by The Sun, the man who is suspected to have the deadly virus is from Bulgarograsso while the woman is from Lurate Caccivo.
They had both spent three months in Uganda, working in humanitarian aid, before recently returning to Italy.
