ADDIS ABABA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has appealed for 1.4 billion U.S. dollars to finance Ebola outbreak response efforts, as the number of confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda surpassed 1,130.
During an online press briefing on Thursday evening, Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya said that a total of 1,138 confirmed Bundibugyo Ebola cases and 293 deaths have been recorded across the DRC and Uganda, representing a case fatality rate of about 25.75 percent, including 20 confirmed cases and two deaths in Uganda. A total of 136 patients have recovered from the viral disease so far.
Kaseya said that five weeks into its declaration, the outbreak has yet to reach its peak, citing "a huge increase of cases" over the past week. He noted that compared to similar recent Ebola outbreaks, the current crisis is fast emerging as the largest.
"If we don't stop this outbreak now, and if it lasts two years -- as was the case in West Africa and in the eastern part of the DRC -- it will certainly be the largest Ebola outbreak ever," he warned.
With 1,020 confirmed cases, the Ituri Province in eastern DRC is currently the epicenter of the outbreak, according to data from the African Union (AU)'s specialized continental public health agency.
Meanwhile, Africa CDC officials commended recent progress in the ongoing outbreak response, highlighting notable improvements in testing and treatment capacities, alongside enhanced cross-border cooperation between the DRC and Uganda.
Despite concerns regarding the outbreak's expansion within the DRC's affected areas, the Africa CDC chief commended Uganda's progress, stating that the country is "on the right track to end this outbreak."
Kaseya also disclosed that clinical trials of therapeutics are set to start next week, describing it as "great news" for the continent's continued outbreak response and preparedness efforts.
However, Kaseya warned that contact tracing remains a critical operational challenge, with an average of only eight contacts listed per confirmed case. Highlighting the standard expectation of 20 contacts per case in rural contexts and 40 in urban areas, he noted that only about 8,000 contacts have been identified so far, out of an expected 40,000.
"We have a dual action plan to execute: to build treatment centers and increase our bed capacity, and to ensure that we are detecting people in a timely manner and admitting them to treatment centers," he said.
The Africa CDC chief also identified a shortage of safe burial experts, rising health worker infections, an inadequately trained health workforce, and a critical funding shortfall as key operational constraints.
Stressing the critical need to integrate humanitarian interventions into the Ebola response, Kaseya said the strategy currently requires 1.4 billion dollars to fund the combined humanitarian and health aspects of the outbreak.
"This outbreak is complex because of two major factors -- insecurity and the humanitarian situation. We have around 69 camps in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, with 1.15 million people living in the camps. If we add to that around one million people who return from camps to their villages without any support, we are talking about more than two million people," he said.
Noting a total of 910 million dollars in Ebola-specific pledges announced by African states, as well as key multilateral and bilateral partners during an AU-led high-level meeting last week, Kaseya said that only 13 percent of the total pledged amount has been released to the affected countries and operational response partners so far.
The Africa CDC chief also said that early financing represents the most cost-effective public health investment, calling for the immediate release of financial commitments before the outbreak escalates into a much larger regional crisis.
The Africa CDC declared the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda a public health emergency of continental security on May 18, one day after the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreaks in the two countries a public health emergency of international concern.
The Ebola virus is highly contagious and causes symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhea, generalized pain, and malaise. In severe cases, it causes internal and external bleeding. ■