The World Health Organization (WHO) is evaluating the use of experimental vaccines and drugs that are still in the development stage in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following a rapid increase in Ebola cases and deaths.
“Elchi” reports that WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed deep concern regarding the speed and scale of the epidemic’s spread.
Infection cases are rising rapidly
In the new epidemic in the DRC caused by the Bundibugyo strain, at least 500 suspected cases and 130 suspected deaths have been recorded so far.
At the beginning of the epidemic, approximately 200 cases and 65 deaths were recorded. Dr. Mesfin Teklu Tessema, health director of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) operating in the DRC’s Ituri province, stated that the current figures are “only the tip of the iceberg.”
Tessema warned that it is only a matter of time before the virus spreads into the country from the porous border of South Sudan, noting that control is difficult due to the weak healthcare infrastructure in the region.
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