Confirmed Ebola cases in Democratic Republic of Congo rise to 363

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 363, including 62 deaths, according to government data released this Wednesday (3).

The WHO (World Health Organization) said the world is "catching up" with the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, although challenges remain.

"The outbreak had a big head start, and we are still behind, but under the leadership of the DRC government, we are catching up," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press conference.

The outbreak, linked to the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, has spread to neighboring Uganda, where 15 cases have been confirmed, including one death, the WHO said.

Access to testing has also improved, which is why hundreds of initially suspected cases of Ebola have now been ruled out, according to the WHO. The most common tests used to detect the disease do not identify the Bundibugyo strain responsible for this outbreak, which has caused a backlog of cases pending analysis.

"What the team on the ground is doing is clearing this backlog," said Abdirahman Mahamud, director of health emergency alert and response operations at the WHO.

The response to the outbreak continues to face difficulties in expanding testing capacity and tracing contacts of those infected. Additionally, widespread travel restrictions imposed by some countries are disrupting supply chains and hampering efforts to combat the disease, according to the WHO.

Only around 45% of contacts of confirmed cases were monitored. To control the outbreak, this rate needs to exceed 90%, said Tedros.

The WHO director-general also said that the outbreak may have started as early as January and that teams are still investigating this possibility, but stressed that the focus now must be on containing the spread of the disease.

To achieve this, the WHO will need at least US$115 million over the next three months. Currently, around 35% of this amount has already been raised, said the organization's emergencies director, Chikwe Ihekweazu, adding that "much more" funding will be needed throughout the entire response to the outbreak.

A broader plan to combat the disease and a fundraising campaign will be launched on Friday in partnership with other institutions, including the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

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Source: CNN