The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading at an unprecedented rate, with the number of cases doubling every 20 days, according to UN experts. The rapid spread has prompted calls for a massive expansion of aid measures to combat the epidemic.
Julien Harneis, UN Ebola coordinator, stated on Wednesday that the number of cases is rising exponentially and doubling every 20 days. "This is a much faster growth than the expansion of our aid measures," Harneis said. He emphasized the need for a significant increase in aid, including supplies, protective equipment, personnel, medical staff, and logisticians.
Carl Skau, deputy head of the World Food Program (WFP), described the outbreak as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak of all time. "In the last two months, 1,000 people have died. In West Africa, it took eight months for 1,000 people to die," Skau said. The current outbreak has resulted in over 1,400 deaths, according to figures from the Congolese health authorities.
The Ebola virus is a life-threatening disease transmitted through body contact and particularly through contact with bodily fluids. Experts highlight that early treatment significantly increases the chances of survival.
The current outbreak is the fastest-growing on record, surpassing previous outbreaks in West Africa and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. In the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, more than 11,000 people died. The second-largest recorded outbreak from 2018 to 2020 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo resulted in around 2,300 deaths.
UN experts are urging for a substantial increase in aid to address the rapidly escalating situation. The call includes the need for more supplies, protective equipment, personnel, medical staff, and logisticians to effectively combat the outbreak.
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