KINSHASA, Oct. 2 — The actual toll of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is likely higher than the officially reported figures due to gaps in surveillance and case detection, international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warned on Thursday, as worsening insecurity further disrupts efforts to contain the epidemic.
Since the outbreak began, more than 8,000 confirmed cases and about 4,000 deaths have been reported, MSF said in a statement, describing it as the largest and deadliest Ebola outbreak ever recorded in the DRC. MSF also confirmed that one of its staff members involved in the Ebola response tested positive for Bundibugyo virus and was being medically evacuated to the Netherlands under strict medical protocols. “Healthcare workers are among those at greatest risk,” MSF said.
Meanwhile, the United Nations warned that escalating violence in eastern DRC is further hampering the Ebola response, after a key transit center for suspected patients was destroyed by fire at the Kigonze displacement camp in Ituri province. The outbreak, declared in May, is now the second-largest Ebola outbreak globally, after the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic.
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