Ebola outbreak in DRC, Uganda 'will get worse before it gets better': WHO chief

The Ebola outbreak spreading through eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is still moving faster than the response, the World Health Organization said, warning the crisis will likely worsen before it improves.

Uganda confirmed two new Ebola cases on Monday, bringing the country's total to seven, according to reporting from AP News. The new cases underscore continued cross-border spread linked to the outbreak in eastern Congo.

WHO said on May 21 that the outbreak had grown to 746 suspected cases and 85 confirmed cases across the two countries, including two confirmed infections in Uganda. The agency also reported 10 deaths among confirmed cases.

The outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus, a strain of Ebola for which WHO says there is no approved virus-specific vaccine or treatment.

Response under pressure

WHO had already declared the epidemic a public health emergency of international concern on May 17, citing the outbreak's spread across borders and the need for faster regional coordination.

Regional WHO officials said earlier this week that preparedness and response efforts need to move faster than the outbreak itself.

A Reuters report syndicated Monday said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the epidemic is outpacing response efforts and said there had been 220 suspected deaths and more than 900 suspected cases.

The latest figures have not all been independently confirmed by laboratory testing, but they indicate a sharp deterioration in the outbreak's scale and reach.

Public health teams in DRC and Uganda are racing to trace contacts, isolate patients and contain transmission as the number of suspected cases continues to rise.

The biggest immediate questions are whether Uganda will record more local transmission and whether response efforts in eastern Congo can slow the suspected-case count before it rises further.