About 1 in 4 Ebola cases may be going undetected in Congo, WHO says

Roughly a quarter of Ebola infections in eastern Congo may be going undetected or are found too late, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert said on Thursday.

Some 2,025 cases and 1,357 deaths have been recorded since the epidemic began in August in Congo's North Kivu and Ituri provinces, said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies program.

It is the second-worst outbreak of the virus on record.

Health teams have been unable to reach some areas because of violence by rebel groups.

The teams also have come under attack by locals who mistrust foreigners and government officials in a long-volatile region far from the capital.

Greater political engagement is needed to combat the Ebola outbreak, Ryan said.

"We need the government to reach out to the opposition, we need an 'all party' approach ... we need a single voice of leaders in Congo about this outbreak."

More than 85 infections have been detected each of the last two weeks, down from a peak of 126 weekly in April, and WHO teams are following up on 15,000 suspected contacts each day, a "huge number" who require checking for symptoms, he added.

"Let me be very cautious here, we believe we are probably detecting in excess of 75 per centof cases. We may be missing up to a quarter of cases," Ryan told a news briefing in Geneva.

Late detection of cases was still a problem, he added.

"We must get earlier detection of cases, have more exhaustive identification of contacts."

About 90 per centof people potentially exposed to the virus have agreed to be vaccinated, which has proved efficient, he said.

"It's not them that matter now," Ryan said. "It's the 10 per centthat don't [agree to be vaccinated]because all of our cases are coming from that group."

The epidemic was not under control, he said, and was spreading fast in the rural area of Mabalako and at a lesser rate in the city of Butembo.

Ryan said attacks onaid workers had decreased of late but noted a deadly attack on civilians earlier this week.

A local official said 13 civilians were killed late on Monday in an attack by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) a group thought to be linked to ISIS.