Symbolic imageCongo's Ebola outbreak reaches a sixth province as toll nears record
Congo's Ebola epidemic has spread to Bas-Uele province after a traveller from Haut-Uele died there. The WHO says the outbreak is on course to become the deadliest on record.
Africa CDC director general Jean Kaseya said on Thursday, 13 August, that the man had travelled from Isiro in Haut-Uele to Buta, capital of Bas-Uele, a province bordering the Central African Republic and spared until then. Six of Congo's 26 provinces are now affected, more than 3,400 cases in Ituri alone. Congolese figures released on Tuesday put the toll above 2,100 deaths in more than 4,500 cases, three months after the outbreak was declared on 15 May. Africa CDC calls the pace unprecedented worldwide.
Cases 35 kilometres from South Sudan
Mercy Corps warned on Thursday that confirmed cases are now only 35 kilometres from the South Sudanese border, along high-risk displacement corridors, citing overwhelmed health services, scarce clean water and insecurity that blocks response teams.
Strike and no approved vaccine
No approved vaccine or treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain behind the outbreak, and trials of two candidate drugs began last month in Ituri. Staff at the Nizi centre in Ituri struck on Thursday over three months of unpaid wages, closing it temporarily.
Other opinions
Global Times leads on the WHO's appeal for support and Chinese medical teams sent in July, while The Guardian and Le Monde stress aid cuts, unpaid staff and M23 front lines hampering the response.