DR Congo’s Ebola outbreak spreads to two new health zones, WHO says

Health workers struggle as new Ebola cases are found in border regions of South Ubangi and Haut-Uele.The Ebola virus caused by the Bundibugyo strain has spread to two new health zones in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).New cases were found in Bulu in South Ubangi governorate on the border with the Central African Republic and Dungu in Haut-Uele province on the border with South Sudan, the WHO said on Friday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Ebola fight in DRC ‘far from over,’ warns WHO chieflist 2 of 3DR Congo rolls out Ebola vaccine for health workers as death toll riseslist 3 of 3DR Congo begins Ebola vaccination trials for frontline health workersend of listThe additional cases bring the number of health zones affected to 63 across seven provinces as authorities struggle to control the outbreak.As of September 23, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, has reported 7,890 confirmed cases and 3,799 deaths, according to the WHO. That means that almost half the people who contracted the infection have died.WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said conflict and population displacement were making it more difficult for health workers to reach ‌‌affected communities and trace people who may have been exposed to the virus.“It’s very difficult to see Ebola in isolation because even our response to Ebola is affected by the conflict, because there is displacement and there is an access problem to some areas,” Tedros said.The Bundibugyo strain is difficult to treat because there are no approved vaccines, Tedros said, adding that the WHO is accelerating clinical trials of vaccines and treatments.Contact tracing falling shortMeanwhile, health workers looking for people who may have been exposed to the Bundibugyo strain are falling short of their targets.According to Dr Jean Kaseya, the director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the more than 7,000 confirmed cases should translate to about 420,000 contacts.