DRC: Ebola crisis has potential to expand, WHO says

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has the “potential to expand” as the number of confirmed cases continue to rise.

According to WHO Deputy Director Peter Salama, health workers’ response is on an “epidemiological knife’s edge” especially as the number of people stricken by the virus has risen to 28 since the first outbreak was recorded early this month.

The WHO Deputy Director also confirmed that seven of the confirmed cases were recorded in urban areas.

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“The next few weeks will really tell if this outbreak is going to expand to urban areas or if we’re going to be able to keep it under control,” Salama said.

The concerns are coming days after health officials in the DRC began to contain the outbreak of the deadly virus with a vaccination campaign.

Reports say no less than 4,000 doses of vaccine were shipped on Saturday to the city of Mbandaka, which registered its first case of the disease last week.

 

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