Symbolic imageEbola reaches remote eastern Congo as ADF attacks hamper response
Ebola is spreading through isolated communities in eastern Congo even as cases fall in early hot spots. UN officials name insecurity as the main obstacle.
Six months into the outbreak, UN emergency relief coordinator Chikwe Ihekweazu told a Geneva briefing on Friday, 13 November, that cases have fallen around Bunia in Ituri province and some treatment centres run at half capacity. She called progress "fragile and not enough", since infections persist or rise where terrain and insecurity block access. The New York Times reports that the rainforest town of Biakato accounted for up to a quarter of new national cases, with 300 cases in a month against 20 the month before and only two unpaid doctors. Government data cited by Al Jazeera put the toll at more than 11,000 infections and more than 5,000 deaths.
Armed group targets responders
Julien Harneis, OCHA's Ebola response coordinator in Bunia, said that in recent days "more people were killed by ADF violence than by Ebola". Africa CDC says the Allied Democratic Forces killed 66 civilians in early November, including three health workers, and burned three health facilities. The New York Times, citing UN officials, counts 106 people killed in a series of attacks, with patients fleeing their beds.
Nigeria completes contact monitoring
Nigeria's disease control agency said none of the 62 contacts of a Swiss woman, confirmed on 20 October, fell ill. It stressed that the outbreak is not over until a 42-day countdown ends.