DAKAR, June 25 – The World Health Organization (WHO) says the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is still spreading faster than response efforts, despite progress made in containing the disease.
Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said health teams continue to face major challenges in bringing the outbreak under control. He noted that the global risk remains low but stressed that response efforts need to be stepped up, particularly against the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus.
According to Tedros, contact tracing is still falling short, treatment centres do not have enough capacity, and carrying out safe burials remains difficult as health systems come under increasing pressure.
The Democratic Republic of Congo remains the centre of the outbreak, with 1,094 confirmed cases and 277 deaths recorded so far. Uganda has confirmed 20 cases, including two deaths.
A senior WHO official also said this week that the current outbreak has recorded the highest number of confirmed Ebola cases within the first month compared with previous outbreaks of the disease.
Health authorities are continuing efforts to trace contacts, expand treatment capacity and strengthen measures aimed at slowing the spread of the virus in the affected countries.
