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More than 1,000 people died of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said, while aid workers warned that the highly contagious virus, badociated with insecurity in the troubled region, was creating a "extremely worrying situation".
The current outbreak is the second deadliest ever recorded, after an epidemic killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-2016.
Efforts to stem the outbreak of haemorrhagic fever have been hampered by fighting, but also by community resistance to preventive measures, safe care facilities and safe burials.
"In total, there were 1,008 deaths (942 confirmed and 66 probable)," said Friday the Ministry of Health.
The country of Central Africa declared a 10th Ebola outbreak in 40 years last August and was in the city of Beni, in North Kivu province, before the virus spread to the country. neighboring region of Ituri.
The World Health Organization had initially indicated that it could hope to contain the epidemic, thanks in particular to a new vaccine.
But in recent weeks, senior WHO officials have acknowledged that insecurity, meager financial resources and local politicians reprimanding the population against health workers have seriously compromised containment.
"We are facing a difficult and unstable situation," reporters Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, told reporters on Friday.
"We anticipate a scenario of continuous and intense transmission," he added.
The long-standing presence of various rebel groups in Ituri and North Kivu has made it difficult for health workers to access people who may have been in contact with Ebola, a figure that is growing. currently raises to 12,000 people.
But beyond the militias, communities following the December elections in the DRC "are being manipulated" against cooperation with Ebola stakeholders, Ryan said.
"Communities (…) need to be badured that all parties support the public health response and that the Ebola virus should not become more politicized in the process," he added.
According to Ryan, the United Nations health agency currently has enough vaccine stocks to meet his needs, but the doses may not be enough.
"We do not necessarily know what direction this epidemic is headed for," he said.
More than 110,000 people have been vaccinated since the beginning of the epidemic. Neighboring Rwanda and Uganda also vaccinated health workers.
& # 39; Deeply disturbing & # 39;
At the same time, humanitarian groups warned on Friday of the health risks of tens of thousands of people, uprooted by the resurgence of violence in the east of the country.
Among them, some 7,000 displaced people are housed in a primary school where the only source of water is a nearby river and there are not enough toilets, said 18 non-governmental organizations in a statement.
In such conditions, "the risk of spreading the disease is high," they added.
"This is a very worrying situation, people are afraid to return home and are forced to live in unsanitary and unhygienic conditions in an area where Ebola is still a significant threat," said Tamba Emmanuel Danmbi-saa, d Oxfam. groups who signed the document.
"These people are in urgent need of adequate food, sanitation, drinking water, and health services."
The groups said that violence in the region, with rival rebel groups competing for resources and power, made it very difficult for humanitarian aid to reach those in need, with some 60,000 displaced people in April alone.
A large number of them, the NGOs added, found themselves stuck between the Ugandan border in the east, a region of their country in the grip of violence and another near, ravaged by the Ebola virus. .
"As a result, some displaced people have no choice but to return to the villages where they fled, where they are likely to face further attacks.
"Others avoid official border points and choose to cross the forests illegally along the border or by boat on Lake Albert.This also increases the risk of spreading the Ebola virus because people are not controlled as they would be so at the official crossing of the frontier.
Across the country torn apart by conflict, more than 13 million people need humanitarian badistance, NGOs said.
More than five million people have fled their homes and Uganda already has more than 1.2 million refugees.
burs-jah / qan
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