WHO estimates Congo Ebola outbreak far exceeds official figures
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the actual scale of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be between two and four times higher than official figures indicate, citing difficulties in tracing transmission chains, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing WAM.
Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said that about 80 percent of new infections cannot be linked to known cases, indicating widespread community transmission of the virus, particularly in Ituri Province.
According to government data, the outbreak has so far resulted in 1,792 confirmed cases, including 625 deaths. About 90 percent of all reported cases remain concentrated in Ituri Province, and the outbreak has also spread to the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Tshopo.
Ihekweazu added that test results in Bunia have consistently shown high positivity rates, indicating ongoing transmission of the virus despite progress in containing the outbreak in other areas.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that the death toll from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had reached 600, with 1,759 confirmed cases.
