Africa CDC warns Ebola outbreak could spread beyond continent
Africa CDC chief Jean Kaseya says the 10,091-case Ebola outbreak has spread across three African regions and could reach the UK without more preparedness and funding.
The story in focus
Africa CDC director general Jean Kaseya warned that the Ebola outbreak, at 10,091 cases and 4,887 deaths, has spread across three African regions for the first time and could reach the UK and other countries unless preparedness and funding increase.
- The outbreak has reached 10,091 cases and 4,887 deaths, with 10,060 cases in DR Congo.
- Kaseya said three African regions are affected for the first time, an unprecedented geographic spread.
- The Bundibugyo virus has no approved treatment; vaccine trial results are expected in three to six months.
- Kaseya said governments pledged $3bn but more than $2bn remains outstanding.
- He will meet African health ministers on Wednesday to press for cross-border screening and testing.
Spread across regions
DR Congo's health ministry declared the outbreak in Ituri province on 15 May, though sequencing shows it began in February. The Bundibugyo virus outbreak is the 17th in the country and its largest and deadliest, with 10,060 of the 10,091 cases and all but four of the 4,887 deaths recorded there.
Kaseya said the virus has since reached Kenya and Uganda in east Africa and Nigeria in west Africa, where a woman who arrived from Uganda tested positive in Abuja. France is the only non-African country to have confirmed a case, a doctor who returned from DR Congo in June.
Response obstacles and funding
Kaseya cited inadequate protective equipment and unpaid health worker wages, which have led to strikes, as well as conflict in DR Congo, mistrust of officials, misinformation and global aid cuts.
He said governments pledged $3bn for the response, including $120m from African countries, but more than $2bn is outstanding from donors including the US, the UK and the EU. At a Wednesday meeting, he will ask African health ministers to introduce screening and testing at points of entry and exit.
Preparedness appeal
Kaseya compared the outbreak's trajectory to the early spread of Covid, saying countries that once saw no risk later became hotspots. He plans to request a corridor of peace in conflict areas at a November meeting with African heads of state.
Vaccine trials for the Bundibugyo virus are under way, with results expected in three to six months, he said.
What is the current toll of the Ebola outbreak?
The outbreak has reached 10,091 cases and 4,887 deaths, according to Africa CDC director general Jean Kaseya. Of the cases, 10,060 occurred in DR Congo, with two deaths each in Uganda and Kenya.
Sources & further reading
Help keep the record accurate. Send a correction.
