WHO worries about Ebola outbreak's scale and speed as Congo announces 134 deaths

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — The World Health Organization director-general openly worried Tuesday over the “scale and speed” of an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola in eastern Congo, where authorities reported a sharp increase in suspected deaths — to at least 134 — and more than 500 suspected cases.

The virus spread undetected for weeks after the first known death as authorities tested for a more common type of Ebola and came up negative, health experts and aid workers said. The Bundibugyo virus has no approved medicines or vaccines.

Congo was expecting shipments from the United States and Britain of ChAdOx1, an experimental vaccine developed by researchers at Oxford and designed to target the more common types of Ebola, Zaire and Sudan, Jean-Jaques Muyembe, a virologist at the National Institute of Bio-Medical Research, told journalists.

“We will administer the vaccine and see who develops the disease,” he said.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic,” and the U.N. health agency convened its emergency committee on Tuesday. He pointed to the emergence of cases in urban areas, the deaths of healthcare workers and significant population movement.

The head of the UNICEF office in Bunia, the site of the first known death, said it had been sent an initial 16 tons of relief supplies, mainly disinfectants and soaps, personal protective equipment and water purification tablets and water tanks.

WHO expects the outbreak to last for weeks at least

WHO has declared the Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, requiring a coordinated response. Resources were being rushed to two affected provinces near Uganda, which has reported one death, a person who traveled from Congo. Parts of the region are in the hands of armed rebels.

The head of the WHO team in Congo said authorities haven’t identified “patient zero."

Dr. Anne Ancia also said the Ervebo vaccine, used against a different type of Ebola, was among those considered for possible use, but anything approved would take two months to become available.

“I don’t see that in two months we will be done with this outbreak," she said.

For now, Ancia said, neither the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor the Africa Centers for Disease Control were on the ground, but others were, including Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross.

Cases have been confirmed in the capital of Congo's Ituri province, Bunia; North Kivu’s rebel-held capital, Goma; and the localities of Mongbwalu, Nyakunde and Butembo — home to well over a million people in all.

Dr. Peter Stafford, an American doctor, is among the Bunia cases, said Serge, the Christian organization he works for. He had been treating patients at a hospital. Three other Serge employees, including Stafford’s wife, weren't showing symptoms.

False negative tests delayed response

Congo has said the first person died from the virus on April 24 in Bunia, and the body was repatriated to the Mongbwalu health zone, a mining area with a large population.

“That caused the Ebola outbreak to escalate,” said Congo’s health minister, Samuel Roger Kamba.

When another person fell ill on April 26, samples were sent to Congo's capital, Kinshasa, for testing, according to the Africa CDC. Bunia is more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) away in a country with some of the world's worst infrastructure.

Samples from Bunia were initially tested for the more common type of Ebola, Zaire, Congolese officials said. They came back negative, said Dr. Richard Kitenge, the health ministry incident manager for Ebola.

On May 5, WHO was alerted of about 50 deaths in Mongbwalu, including four health workers. The first confirmation of Ebola came on May 14.

“Our surveillance system didn't work,” Muyembe said. “The Bunia laboratory ... should have continued searching and sent the samples to the national laboratory. Something went wrong there. That’s why we ended up in this catastrophic situation."

Only laboratories in Kinshasa and Goma, which is now controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, have the capacity to test for the Bundibugyo type of Ebola.

Benjamin Mbonimpa, M23’s permanent secretary, has said the rebel government had established entry and exit points in Goma and would take responsibility for funeral services if the virus continues to spread.

“Our priority is to protect the population within our jurisdiction, and we urge people to resume their daily activities,” he said.

Matthew M. Kavanagh, director of the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Policy and Politics, has criticized the Trump administration’s earlier decision to withdraw from WHO and make deep cuts in foreign aid — “the exact surveillance system meant to catch these viruses early,” he said.

The U.S. State Department has said it sprang into action immediately and has provided $13 million for the response.

There is growing panic among some residents

Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare but severe and often fatal. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising.

During an outbreak more than a decade ago that killed more than 11,000 people, many were infected while washing bodies during funerals.

“Ebola is very much a disease of compassion in that it impacts the people who are more likely to be taking care of sick folks,” said Dr. Craig Spencer, an associate professor at the Brown University School of Public Health who survived Ebola more than a decade ago after contracting it in Guinea.

There was growing panic in Bunia neighborhoods.

“I know the consequences of Ebola, I know what it’s like,” resident Noëla Lumo said. She previously lived in Beni, hit by former outbreaks. When she heard about the latest one, she began making protective masks by hand.

Local authorities in Bunia urged people to remain calm and adhere to preventive measures including practicing good hygiene and exercising caution during funeral ceremonies.

The most important challenge is breaking the virus transmission chain, Muyembe said.

“Of the 17 epidemics we have experienced in (Congo), 15 were brought under control simply by applying public health measures,” he said.

___

Pronczuk reported from Dakar, Senegal. AP writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Constant Same Bagalwa in Bunia, Congo and Wilson McMakin in Dakar contributed.

___

This version corrects the name of the Ervebo vaccine.

___