Ebola outbreak surpasses 1000 cases as experts warn ‘peak’ is yet to come
Updated . First published at
The Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has surpassed 1000 confirmed cases, with 254 recorded deaths, officials say, with fears the peak of the outbreak is still ahead.
More than 100 people have recovered from their illness and at least 365 people remain in hospital and isolation, since the outbreak was declared in the Ituri Province on May 15.
Health workers attend to an Ebola patient at the Rwampara treatment Center in Ituri, Congo. AP/Moses Sawasawa
UNICEF reports more than a quarter of the confirmed deaths have been in children and teenagers and 135 children have been orphaned.
Children in the region were already vulnerable, with more than half of children under five chronically malnourished.
“Our teams in Ituri have met children who have lost their mothers, and in some cases both parents, to Ebola,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
“Children are trying to make sense of the threat while surrounded by rumors and online misinformation.
“Children are especially vulnerable because they depend on caregivers and cannot distance themselves from a sick parent or sibling in the same way that an adult can.
“To better protect children, we need sustained access, and the resources needed to reach every affected community.”
A nursery for infants and children who are separated from their parents has opened with UNICEF support and another two are to open soon.
Officials say the outbreak of the disease, which has no vaccine or treatment, is outpacing response efforts and the true scale of the spread is unknown.
Patient zero has not been identified and more than 35,000 people have not been contact traced.
Surveillance and contact tracing are made more difficult due to years of conflict and mass displacement in the region.
Red Cross workers prepare to bury Vanisa Anifa, a 6-month-old orphaned girl who died of Ebola, at the Bigo Cemetery, in Bunia, Congo. AP/Moses Sawasawa
Ituri is subject to ongoing violence from rebels and attacks by the Islamic State group-backed Allied Democratic Force.
There are fears the outbreak may have reached the Kigonze displacement camp in Bunia, which is sheltering 20,000 displaced people, with 10 unusual deaths reported there last week.
In a statement on Friday, the UN refugee agency said it was “deeply concerned by the accelerating spread” of the virus and “the growing risks it poses to displaced communities across the region.”
The majority of cases are within Ituri Province, however they have also been repored in North Kivu and South Kivu and 20 cases in Uganda.
with Associated Press
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
