The outbreak, which began in Ituri, has spread to seven provinces, with more than 7 000 confirmed cases and 3 500 deaths recorded.
World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa Programme Area Manager Dr Patrick Otim said transmission in North Kivu had accelerated during the past three weeks. “North Kivu, which throughout this outbreak has been the second most affected, still remains the second most affected in terms of the cumulative number of cases,” Otim said.
“However, in the last three weeks, there has been an acceleration in transmission, with an increase in the number of daily cases as well as deaths.”
Of 70 cases reported on September 23, North Kivu and Ituri each recorded 31.
The WHO, DRC health authorities and partners have expanded operations in Beni, Katwa and Butembo, with Otim reporting early signs of improvement.
However, staffing shortages are limiting treatment capacity.
DRC has about 16 doctors, nurses and other health professionals for every 10 000 people, compared with the WHO benchmark of 44.
“The staffing shortage we are seeing in the Ebola response did not really begin with this outbreak,” Otim said. “It reflects a wider structural health workforce challenge.”
The Ebola response has expanded from three treatment centres to 44 facilities with 1 500 beds, increasing demand for doctors, nurses, hygienists and other personnel. “As we expand these treatment facilities, we have not had adequate numbers of doctors, nurses and hygienists needed to run an Ebola treatment facility,” Otim said.
The government is redeploying health workers from other regions, while WHO and partners are preparing emergency medical teams from countries that have offered support.
Conflict involving armed groups in North Kivu and Ituri remains another major obstacle. “When you have active conflict, response operations have to pause,” Otim said.
“Surveillance officers cannot go out and ambulances cannot evacuate patients to treatment centres. It results in an interruption of the entire response chain.”
Poor roads and widely dispersed communities also delay patient referrals and the delivery of supplies across 63 affected health zones.
Otim said authorities were decentralising operations and establishing services closer to outbreak hotspots.
“We really need treatment facilities close to the response centres,” Otim said. “That increases the funding and supplies required for this response.”
–WHO/ChannelAfrica–
