The volatile security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the greatest obstacle to containing the country's Ebola outbreak, World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said late on Thursday.
Around 100,000 people have been displaced by fighting in the past month alone, making it extremely difficult to contain the disease, said Tedros, who has travelled to the city of Bunia in DCR's Ituri province, the region hardest hit by the latest outbreak.
The WHO head renewed calls for a ceasefire and appealed to the international community to increase financial support, so health workers could be supplied with the necessary equipment and aid.
Tedros said the WHO was working with partners and institutions to speed up clinical trials for treatments, though it could still be months before these become available.
There is currently no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola currently circulating in the region. Health authorities can therefore only break chains of transmission by treating infected people under strict safety measures and ensuring their contacts isolate for three weeks.
Ongoing fighting has made it difficult for contacts of infected people to isolate effectively. Ituri province is also home to densely populated mining communities, increasing the risk of transmission.
