BRAZZAVILLE, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The weekly number of new Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached the highest level since the outbreak began, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Yakub Janabi said Friday.
Speaking at an online media briefing, Janabi said the outbreak is the largest Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak ever recorded and the situation remains serious, with transmission continuing in Ituri and North Kivu provinces in eastern DRC.
Pierre Akilimali, a WHO expert in the DRC, said that the outbreak is occurring in areas affected by insecurity and armed group activities, making case detection and contact tracing difficult.
He added that some affected areas in Ituri Province are mining zones, where frequent movement of people from outside has increased the risk of virus transmission.
As of Wednesday, the DRC had reported 1,460 confirmed Ebola cases, including 432 deaths, with a case fatality rate of about 31 percent, Akilimali said, adding that the cases have been recorded across 36 health zones in three provinces.
He also noted that 321 of the deaths occurred in communities, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the total, an indication that many patients failed to reach health facilities in time for treatment.
Benjamin Sensasi, a WHO expert in Uganda, said the country had reported 20 confirmed cases as of Thursday, including 15 imported cases. The remaining five locally infected people were all detected while in quarantine, and no community transmission has been observed.
Uganda and the DRC have established a joint cross-border response mechanism and signed a memorandum of understanding, under which the two countries will share surveillance information and strengthen screening and treatment capacity in border areas, Sensasi said.
