The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to spread and has affected new areas, and the number of infected people is rising, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said today, quoted by DPA, BTA reported.
A total of 676 cases of infection have been confirmed as of yesterday, including 136 people who have died, said Olivier Le Polen, who is in Beni, North Kivu province, to support local authorities on behalf of the WHO.
“Cases are being registered in new health zones almost every day,” he said, although most are still in Ituri province.
While most cases in North and South Kivu involve people who came from Ituri, local transmission has also been recorded, Le noted Pollen.
Challenges include ongoing conflict, large numbers of displaced people and weak health systems, he said, warning of “blind spots: in the highest-risk areas.”
“The full extent of the epidemic is still not clear,” the WHO official added.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that families are avoiding routine hospital check-ups or not seeking medical care for sick children for fear of infection. The danger is that even more children will die as a result, UNICEF said.
More than half of children under the age of five in Ituri province are malnourished, putting them at risk, the UN agency added.