More than 5,290 people have been infected and 2,516 died since the outbreak of Ebola was declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo on May 15. Photo by Dieudonne Dirole/EPA
Aug. 23 (UPI) — The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is “growing exponentially,” a senior United Nations official said Friday.
More than 5,290 people have been infected and 2,516 died since the outbreak was declared on May 15.
Half of all deaths occurred in the last 20 days, U.N. Senior Ebola Coordinator Julien Harneis said.
“The epidemic is spreading to an area that is bigger than France,” Harneis told reporters in Bunia. “And the outbreak is growing faster and wider than the Ebola response.”
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccine or treatment.
Officials have called it the fastest-spreading outbreak on record, killing one person every 30 minutes.
Some 160 healthcare workers have contracted Ebola and 43 died.
“And then when we do respond, apart from the threat from the virus, healthcare workers and frontline workers have been attacked by youths, ambulances have been burned and stoned and the healthcare facilities have been attacked,” Harneis said.
“Conditions on the ground are extremely difficult, but we will continue deploying all the humanitarian and medical ***istance needed until the job is done,” he added.
Harneis said the outbreak risks spreading into neighboring countries.
“We’re only covered for the next weeks, and very soon funding will run out,” he added. “Every delay in funding and implementation makes this epidemic more deadly, more difficult to stop and more expensive.
“So, we need that international support immediately.”
