Health
DRC has strengthened its response to Ebola - but conflict and funding cuts are testing its capacity
Key Points
The outbreak of Bundibugyo ebolavirus, ongoing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), shows no signs of slowing down. Ebolavirus was confirmed in samples on 15 May although the disease is likely to have been circulating since at least early April. As of 6 June, 515 cases and 91 deaths have been recorded in the DRC and 19 cases and two deaths in Uganda, according to the World Health Organization.1 This delay highlights the fragile health system in the area and challenges to testing...
The outbreak of Bundibugyo ebolavirus, ongoing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), shows no signs of slowing down. Ebolavirus was confirmed in samples on 15 May although the disease is likely to have been circulating since at least early April. As of 6 June, 515 cases and 91 deaths have been recorded in the DRC and 19 cases and two deaths in Uganda, according to the World Health Organization.1 This delay highlights the fragile health system in the area and challenges to testing capacity, particularly to this strain of the virus. As ever, those individuals on the frontline of the response are at highest risk of contracting the disease.Ebola has emerged in a context of severe, protracted humanitarian crisis, insecurity, and global funding cuts. The current outbreak represents the 17th in the DRC since its discovery in 1976. Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has been present in...