The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is “spreading rapidly”, the director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said, as UK scientists work on a new vaccine that could be “months away”.
There are at least 750 suspected Ebola cases in the DRC, along with 177 suspected deaths, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
He said 72 cases and seven deaths have been confirmed, but the number of suspected cases and deaths was much higher.
“These numbers are changing as surveillance efforts and laboratory testing is improving, but violence and insecurity are impeding the response,” Mr Ghebreyesus said.
Mr Ghebreyesus said the outbreak in the DRC was “spreading rapidly” and now poses a “very high” risk at the national level.
The UN health agency was revising its assessment of the risk within the country from high to “very high”, he said. The risk remains high for regional spread and low at global levels, he added.
Additional WHO personnel have been deployed to Ituri, the epicentre of the outbreak, he added.
In neighbouring Uganda, two cases and one death have been confirmed.
University of Oxford scientists working on vaccine
It comes as scientists from the University of Oxford are working to develop a new vaccine which could be used to combat the outbreak.
Professor Teresa Lambe OBE, the head of vaccine immunology at the Oxford Vaccine Group and Pandemic Sciences Institute, said: “My hope is that this outbreak can be brought under control quickly and that vaccines are ultimately not needed.
“Nevertheless, our team and partners will continue working to ensure that potential vaccine options are available if they are needed.”
The WHO said the vaccine could be available for use in clinical trials in two to three months, the BBC reported.
Treatment centre set alight
Mr Ghebreyesus’s comments about “violence and insecurity” come after a treatment centre was set alight by an angry crowd.
Clashes broke out in the town of Rwampara, in Ituri, on Thursday after the family of an Ebola victim disputed the disease had killed him and demanded his body be handed over to them.
Witnesses told the Reuters news agency that protesters gathered outside the hospital and set fire to tents run by a medical charity, prompting police to fire warning shots and tear gas.
Bodies of Ebola victims are highly infectious after death, and unsafe burials are a leading cause of transmission.
On Thursday, a case was confirmed in the DRC, hundreds of miles from the epicentre, in a rebel-held area of the country, signalling a further spread of the disease.
The Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak has no approved vaccine or treatment, and the WHO has declared a public health emergency of international concern.
On Thursday, Britain said it was allocating up to £20m to the response, through support for frontline health workers, improved infection control and disease surveillance.
The US has so far committed £17.1m ($23m) and said it would help open up to 50 clinics in DRC and Uganda.
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