© picture alliance / Anadolu | Stringer
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is growing at an alarming rate. Since the WHO declared an international emergency last week, the death toll has risen from 80 to 204. Spread across three provinces, over 850 are believed to be infected. The outbreak is concentrated in the east of the country. The violence in that part of Congo is severely hampering aid efforts.
The situation on the ground is tense. In Ituri province, local residents set fire to two treatment centers. Eighteen suspected patients subsequently fled the clinics. Three Red Cross volunteers also died after presumably contracting Ebola during humanitarian work.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu, director of the World Health Organization, said countries are at a critical moment in fighting the outbreak. "It's crucial that authorities are very vigilant to control spread," his words from Saturday's Volkskrant read.
Spread to neighboring countries
The spread to neighboring countries is causing concern. Uganda now counts five confirmed cases and one death, and suspended public transport to Congo. The African Union warns that 10 countries are at risk, including Angola, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania.
A complicating factor is the current Bundibugyo variant, with an incubation period of up to 21 days. In the time between the actual infection and the outbreak of symptoms, infected travelers show no symptoms and thus do not stand out at border controls.
What is Washington doing?
Experts point to a chronic lack of resources, due in part to Western cuts in development aid and the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO. For now, Washington is taking a protective approach: travelers without U.S. passports who have been to Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the past 21 days are barred from entering the U.S. Even the Congolese national soccer team, currently in Belgium, must spend three weeks in isolation before they can enter the World Cup host country.
"Our main goal is that Ebola does not reach the United States," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Picture: © picture alliance / Anadolu | Stringer