Ebola control measures seem to be working in Congo, WHO says - Action News
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Ebola control measures seem to be working in Congo, WHO says

Recent trends suggest that control measures are working to halt an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Congo, World Health Organization says.

Outbreak has so far killed 77 people among 116 cases

A health worker from the Alliance For International Medical Action is seen as they prepare the facility for Ebola patients at the Ebola Treatment Center in the town of Beni in North Kivu, Congo. (Samuel Mambo/Reuters)

Efforts to halt an outbreak ofthe deadly Ebola virus in Congo appear tobe working, but substantial risks remain, the World HealthOrganization said on Friday.

The outbreak has so far killed 77 people in Congo's NorthKivu and Ituri provinces among 116 cases. Fifteen of the caseswere healthworkers.

"Recent trends suggest that control measures are working," aWHO statement said, citing improving figures for tracingpatients' contacts, rapid treatment of Ebola patients withtherapeutic drugs and vaccinations of people at risk.



A previous outbreak in Congo this year was swiftly stopped,despite the remote location and difficult terrain.

The latest outbreak presents a different challenge,occurring in a more densely populated area with dozens of armedgroups. Some areas are off-limits to healthworkers due to thesecurity risks, making it more difficult to ring-fence eachEbola case by vaccinating all the patient's contacts.

On Wednesday WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said itwas too soon to say whether the outbreak was stablizing due tothe difficulty of identifying new cases near rebel-controlledareas.

"Substantial risks remain, posed by potential undocumentedchains of transmission," Friday's WHO statement said, addingthat four of the 13 new probable and confirmed cases in the pastweek were not known to have had contact with any Ebola patients.

There were also risks from unsafe burial practices andpeople's reluctance to accept contact tracing, vaccination andhealthcare, as well as poor standards in some health centres anddelays in getting patients to treatment.