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HealthUN: Congo Ebola outbreak fastest growing ever, over 1,000 dead in two months
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The United Nations has declared the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo the fastest growing of all time, with over 1,400 deaths reported so far. UN Ebola Coordinator Julien Harneis stated that cases are increasing exponentially and doubling every 20 days, outpacing the expansion of aid measures. Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme, noted that 1,000 people died in the last two months, compared to eight months for the same death toll during the West Africa outbreak. The UN is urgently calling for a massive expansion of relief supplies, protective equipment, personnel, and medical professionals. Early treatment is emphasized as critical for survival. The current outbreak has already surpassed the 2018-2020 eastern Congo outbreak which killed around 2,300 people, though it remains below the 2014-2015 West Africa epidemic that killed over 11,000.
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Photo of the "Ceca-20" cemetery in Congo. Source: REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, hundreds of people are dying from Ebola within a short period, with the current outbreak outpacing all previous ones. United Nations officials describe the situation as a race against time and are urging a radical expansion of aid.
UN Calls for Massive Scale-Up of Aid
In light of the ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, UN experts are demanding a significant increase in aid measures.
"The number of cases is increasing exponentially and doubling every 20 days. This is a much faster growth than the expansion of our aid measures," said Julien Harneis, UN Ebola Coordinator.
"We must massively step up our measures, whether in the supply of relief goods, especially protective equipment, personnel, medical professionals, and logisticians." Harneis noted that early treatment greatly increases the chances of survival.
More Than 1,400 Dead in Current Outbreak
"This is the fastest growing Ebola outbreak of all time," said Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP). "For comparison: in the last two months, 1,000 people died. In West Africa, it took eight months for 1,000 people to die."
Historical context:
- In 2014 and 2015, more than 11,000 people died in an Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
- In the second worst recorded outbreak from 2018 to 2020 in eastern Congo, around 2,300 people died.
- According to figures from the Congolese health authorities, more than 1,400 people have so far died from the virus in the current outbreak.
Ebola fever is a life-threatening disease. The virus is transmitted through physical contact and especially contact with body fluids.
dpa/doli
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UN Declares Congo Ebola Outbreak Fastest Growing Ever, Over 1,000 Dead in Two Months