WHO revises risk assessment of Ebola outbreak in DR Congo to 'very high'
發佈日期: 2026-05-23 19:54
TVB News
The World Health Organization says Ebola's Bundibugyo strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo now poses a "very high" risk, up from the previous catagorisation of "high," although it assesses the public health risk of the disease spreading globally remains "low."
Authorities in northeastern Congo have curtailed funeral wakes in an effort to contain the deadly outbreak.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO's director-general, declared at a news conference Friday that the epidemic remains a deep concern.
He said the agency is revising risk assessment for the rare Bundibugyo virus of Ebola, for which there's currently no approved vaccine or specific treatments, to "very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level."
The disease spreaded for weeks across DR Congo that's reeling from international aid cuts and widespread displacement caused by armed conflicts.
WHO Africa region manager for epidemics and humanitarian crises, Patrick Otim, said: "There are definitely those political and security contexts that we have to take into consideration, and particularly where we have limited access due to either security or other factors, it really makes it very hard to be able to interrupt the transmission because you cannot have the surveillance activities implemented. You cannot deploy the supplies that you need quite easily. And you cannot also set up treatment facilities in areas where you cannot guarantee the safety of the people."
Nearly 750 suspected cases of Ebola and 177 suspected deaths have surfaced in the region so far. Still, both the WHO and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the outbreak is believed to be much larger than what is reported.
Supplies are being rushed to the heart of the outbreak, Ituri.
An incident manager on the DR Congo's national Ebola response team notes the sick mingled with the general population at hospitals and urges the strengthening of triage and isolation.
The Ituri provincial government has imposed a ban on funeral wakes and public gatherings of over 50 people.
This just a day after a special treatment centre in the town of Rwampara was set alight by local youths who clashed with police while trying to recover the body of a friend.
Officials say the arson attack was because the youths didn't understand the health protocols required for burying suspected Ebola victims.
Meanwhile in neighbouring Uganda, three new Ebola virus cases were confirmed on Saturday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to five in the country.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded the scope of temporary entry restrictions to green card holders who have been to Ebola-affected areas including in DR Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan.
