WHO chief: Ebola response in DRC catching up

With concerted efforts and coordination, the response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is catching up, the World Health Organization (WHO) said at a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who just returned from a visit to the DRC, said he was very encouraged by the level of commitment he saw in the country. "What I saw gave me hope, although challenges remain."

In the DRC, 344 cases have been confirmed, including 60 deaths, in 24 health zones across three provinces, while the number of suspected cases has been reduced to 116 from over 1,000 last week, said Tedros.

WHO's risk assessment remains unchanged: very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level, according to the WHO chief. 

"The outbreak had a big head start, and we're still behind, but under the leadership of the Government of the DRC, we are catching up," he said.

As international efforts to contain the outbreak continue, a Chinese medical delegation arrived in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, on Tuesday for a three-month mission to assist the country's response.

The team would cooperate with local medical and disease control institutions to provide support in epidemic assessment, case management and more, said Lu Ming, head of the Chinese expert team.

Meanwhile, Ghebreyesus noted several challenges, including scaling up laboratory and diagnostic capacity to reduce delays in case confirmation and support faster response decisions; contact tracing in the DRC; travel restrictions that are disrupting supply chains and hindering the response; and community mistrust. There are also currently no licensed vaccines or specific therapeutics for the Bundibugyo ebolavirus strain.

(With input from Xinhua)