The death toll continues to rise amid a record Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Experts continue to stress that the risk to the American public is low, but the virus’ high fatality rate and history of crossing borders as health authorities on high alert.
The outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, has spread rapidly since it was declared in mid-May. It has expanded by thousands of cases in the last week and has become the fastest-growing such outbreak in the country.
The World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention sent top officials to the capital Kinshasa to meet with local officials, including Congo’s president Félix Tshisekedi, to strengthen the coordination of the local response.
Officials say there is a need to scale up all pillars of the response, which will require support from the international community. The United States government says it’s willing to provide $242 million in additional funding for the effort.
Several factors are contributing to the ongoing spread of the disease. There is no vaccine or specific medication yet for this strain of Ebola, there is a degree of community mistrust and hostility aimed at medical workers, and some aid workers have gone on strike to protest pay and conditions as the outbreak evolves.
Scripps News has also learned there are active militia groups in the area where the outbreak is occurring.
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“We all agree that we must urgently and massively scale up all our efforts across all pillars of the response and by all partners,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who visited Congo to meet with officials.
Congo’s Ministry of Health says on Monday, the outbreak had grown to 3,874 confirmed cases and 1,751 deaths.
