Congo's Ebola Outbreak Passes 8,000 Confirmed Cases as Health Worker Shortages Worsen

The World Health Organization confirmed that the virus has spread to two additional regions in the north. The outbreak began in the north-eastern province of Ituri, and the highest concentrations of cases remain in Ituri, North Kivu and Upper-Uele. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has pointed to a basic problem: with no vaccine or treatment on offer, people have little incentive to come forward for care, even though trials of both are advancing.

The people fighting it are running out

The sharpest warning in the latest figures concerns staffing. NBC reports that Congo is running out of health workers, that at least 50 have died since the outbreak was announced, that many report late or missing pay, and that pay disputes have triggered several strikes. The WHO noted a "continuously high crude case fatality ratio" and "persistent challenges in timely case detection and access to early and adequate patient care". Insecurity, displacement and heavy population movement make tracing harder still. The Jamaica Observer adds that armed groups are hampering the humanitarian response in parts of the east and that community mistrust has led to violence against aid workers.

Faster than West Africa

The comparison that public health officials keep returning to is the 2014 to 2016 West African epidemic, which killed about 11,000 people. NBC cites figures showing that by the nineteenth week this outbreak had recorded 7,840 cases against 3,781 in West Africa at the same point. The Africa CDC says the current outbreak has outpaced the West African one in spread over the same period, and the WHO says it is on track to surpass it.

The Jamaica Observer reports that case numbers have levelled off after its rapid early rise, but the Africa CDC's assessment is that the outbreak is still "not under control". The United States has announced a further $267 million in funding, according to the same report. Money alone will not solve the shortage that matters most. Until frontline staff are paid and protected, and until a vaccine or treatment is proven against this strain, the number to watch is not only the total but how many people reach a clinic early enough to be helped.