GENEVA, May 22 (Xinhua) --The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is spreading rapidly, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday to revise its risk assessment to "very high" at the national level, while remaining "high" at the regional level and "low" globally.
The WHO said 82 cases have been confirmed so far in DRC, with seven confirmed deaths. However, the epidemic is much larger, with almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference.
In Uganda, the situation remains stable. Two cases have been confirmed in people who traveled from DRC, with one death. Measures taken in Uganda, including intense contact tracing and cancelling the Martyrs' Day commemoration, appear to have been effective in preventing further spread of the virus, said Tedros.
An American national who was working in DRC has also been confirmed positive and was transferred to Germany for care. WHO is also aware of reports today about another American national who is a high-risk contact and has been transferred to the Czech Republic.
The governments of DRC and Uganda are leading the response, with support from WHO and partners. In addition to national staff in DRC, WHO has deployed 22 international staff to the field, including some of its most experienced personnel. The agency has released 3.9 million U.S. dollars from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies.
WHO is in touch with UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher. Tedros thanked him for allocating 60 million U.S. dollars to the response. On the ground, WHO is supporting national authorities with every pillar of the response, including contact tracing, establishing treatment centers, risk communication and community engagement.
Together with Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), WHO is also establishing a continental Incident Management Support Team. In the coming days, the agency will publish a multi-agency Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP), aligned with the national plans of both DRC and Uganda.
According to Tedros, unlike many previous Ebola outbreaks caused by the Zaire virus, this outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or therapeutics. There have only been two previous outbreaks of Bundibugyo - in Uganda in 2007 and the DRC in 2012.
WHO on Thursday convened leaders of several partner organizations under the interim Medical Countermeasures Network to review the pipeline of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. The WHO R&D Blueprint also convened its technical advisory group on therapeutics, which recommended prioritizing two monoclonal antibodies to advance in clinical trials.
The advisory group further recommended evaluating the antiviral obeldesivir in a clinical trial as post-exposure prophylaxis for high-risk contacts. That clinical trial is now being developed jointly with Africa CDC and the Collaborative Open Research Consortium on filoviruses. Discussions are also ongoing with partners on candidate vaccines in the development and manufacturing pipeline.
The two provinces of Ituri and North Kivu in DRC, where the outbreak is occurring, are highly insecure, with intensified fighting in recent months causing more than 100 000 people to be newly displaced. Across both provinces, around 4 million people need urgent humanitarian assistance, 2 million are displaced, and 10 million face acute hunger. There is also significant distrust of outside authorities among the local population.
A security incident occurred on Thursday at a hospital in Ituri, where tents and medical supplies were set on fire. "Building trust in the affected communities is critical to a successful response, and is one of our highest priorities," Tedros said.
WHO is also committed to ensuring that essential health services for the affected communities are maintained and strengthened, based on their needs. ■
