Médecins Sans Frontières warned on Thursday that Congo’s Ebola outbreak is out of control six months after it began. The medical charity reported that many cases are likely missed and hospital transmission is rife in certain areas.
,Confirmed cases have surpassed 11,000 in the epidemic, which began in mid-May. It is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of the virus, for which no approved treatments or vaccines exist, making it the second-worst outbreak on record.
,Dr. Javid Abdelmoneim, the international president of MSF, stated that help is failing to reach the most vulnerable people. He cited unpaid and untrained staff, fuel-less ambulances, and shortages of surveillance teams and supplies.
,“Diverse amounts of money have been provided for the response, yet many frontline responders are left trying to contain the outbreak with empty hands and empty pockets,” Dr. Abdelmoneim said on Thursday. “Our teams are often left speechless by the dysfunctions they witness in many areas. Six months into the response, this situation is simply unacceptable.”
,MSF urged the Congolese government and United Nations agencies, including the World Health Organization, to ensure mobilized resources translate into actual ground support. The Congolese government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
,British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson spoke at a separate briefing on Wednesday about real-time modeling of the outbreak. He stated that case detection is a major challenge and transmission could continue for another year, potentially surpassing the 2014 to 2016 West African outbreak, which recorded over 28,600 cases and more than 11,000 deaths.
,“Throughout the outbreak, we think we are probably only detecting about half of cases which are occurring,” said Ferguson, who directs public health at Imperial College London. His team estimated active patients in Congo number between 2,000 and 3,000.
,Different regions face unique obstacles, including active conflict zones. MSF reported that only nine percent of Ebola patients treated in Ituri province were known contacts of existing cases. Close to two-thirds of reported Ebola-related deaths over the past month occurred in communities instead of treatment centres.
,Health care settings also face critical shortages of water and chlorine. In the Beni health zone of North Kivu, MSF reported that nearly three-quarters of Ebola patients likely contracted the disease directly inside such locations.
,Asked about the criticisms, the WHO directed attention to remarks made by Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday. He acknowledged problems like delayed health worker payments and stated the WHO is working with Congolese authorities and the Africa CDC to strengthen the response.
,Ghebreyesus warned that insecurity, particularly attacks on health facilities, has become a primary obstacle. He noted that an attack in the town of Cantine-Aloya in North Kivu killed 66 civilians last week, including three health workers. The attack caused officials to lose track of more than 1,000 contacts and left three confirmed Ebola patients unaccounted for.
