The spread of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached alarming proportions, according to the charity organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
According to BBC reports cited by Ukrinform, Dr. Alan Gonzalez, deputy director of MSF, noted that such a high number of cases had never been recorded so quickly after the announcement of a new outbreak.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO, visited Ituri Province, the epicenter of the outbreak, to coordinate efforts to contain the epidemic.
More than 1,000 suspected cases of Ebola and at least 246 deaths have already been reported in the DRC. In neighboring Uganda, nine cases and one death have been confirmed.
“The situation in Ituri remains extremely alarming two weeks after the outbreak,” Gonzalez emphasized. He added that teams on the ground are observing the rapid spread of the virus.
“The true scale and severity of the outbreak are still unknown. New suspected cases are emerging every day, but many of them have not yet been verified,” noted Alan Gonzalez.
