Security challenges increasingly undermine response to Ebola in DR Congo: WHO

Source: Xinhua| 2018-10-13 01:04:06|Editor: yan
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GENEVA, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Response to the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is becoming increasingly undermined by security challenges, which could lead to the virus continuing to spread, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday.

The WHO said the conflict between rebel and government forces, as well as pockets of community push-back on the response, have challenged Ebola response teams and led to a recent increase in the incidence of new Ebola cases.

Latest WHO statistics show that as of Thursday, a total of 200 Ebola cases, including 165 confirmed cases and 35 probable cases, had been reported, with a death toll of 125. Some 39 new confirmed cases have been reported this month alone, of which 32 were from Beni, one of the epicenters in North Kivu Province.

As of Thursday, some 15,828 people at risk had been vaccinated, including more than 6,300 health and frontline workers and over 3,400 children. Meanwhile, vaccinations have also been in progress in neighboring Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Burundi.

The WHO maintains that the Ebola risk in the DRC is very high at national and regional levels, but is low globally, thus advises against imposing any travel and trade restrictions to the DRC.

Currently, the WHO, local health authority, and other international partners are monitoring more than 8,000 registered contacts, the vast majority being at Beni Health Zone. The greatest challenges in contact tracing, according the WHO, come from local community reluctance and refusal to carry out contact tracing, contacts lost to follow-up, and a deteriorating security situation.

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