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<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bundibugyo virus continues to outpace us,\u201d said Dr. Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, speaking from Bunia, the\u00a0epicentre\u00a0of the outbreak in eastern DRC \u2013 referring to a particularly lethal Ebola strain for which there is still no approved vaccine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bundibugyo virus continues to outpace us<\/strong>,\u201d\u00a0Dr.\u00a0Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa,\u00a0said\u00a0at a press conference, referring to the\u00a0particularly lethal species of\u202fEbola\u202ffor which no approved vaccine currently exists.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Three months\u00a0into the outbreak, the UN health agency intends\u00a0\u2013 along with\u00a0Congolese authorities and their partners\u00a0\u2013\u00a0to\u00a0\u201curgently intensify\u201d\u00a0the response\u00a0because behind the heavy human toll lies\u00a0a\u00a0problem that has become\u00a0central: too many patients are receiving treatment too late.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr.\u00a0Janabi\u00a0recently spent three days in Bunia, capital of\u00a0Ituri\u00a0province\u00a0\u2013\u00a0his\u00a0fifth visit since the epidemic was declared there on 15 May.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alongside Dr.\u00a0Steve Ahuka, one of the Congolese leaders of the response,\u00a0he\u00a0visited several treatment\u00a0centres\u00a0and met community members\u00a0to understand why the death toll\u00a0remains\u00a0so high.\u00a0<\/p>\n Discussions with representatives of the\u00a0local\u00a0transport association highlighted shortcomings in the patient transport system. According to WHO, half of the deaths\u00a0observed\u00a0among transported individuals are linked to the conditions of their care.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u00a0asked ourselves\u00a0why people are dying in Bunia?\u00a0But\u00a0talking to these leaders, we understood two things,\u201d said Dr.\u00a0Janabi.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cVillage\u00a0centres\u00a0outside of Bunia, they\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have these services. As a result, everyone comes to Bunia. Unfortunately, they\u00a0come\u00a0late<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The concentration of healthcare capacity in the\u00a0city\u00a0thus transforms distance into a factor in mortality.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n As patients lack suitable facilities near their homes,\u00a0they\u00a0must travel long distances before receiving care,\u00a0and\u00a0sometimes when their\u00a0health\u00a0is already severely compromised.\u00a0<\/p>\n The journey itself can also fuel the epidemic<\/strong>. Patients taken to Bunia are not always sent directly to an Ebola\u00a0treatment\u00a0centre. Some are first taken home. When they die, their bodies may\u00a0be taken\u00a0back to their villages,\u00a0thus\u00a0multiplying contacts and the risk of further infections.\u00a0<\/p>\n WHO\u00a0wants\u00a0to break this chain\u00a0by\u00a0bringing healthcare facilities closer to communities, better informing the public and transport providers, and promptly referring suspected cases to appropriate\u00a0centres.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThree months after the start of the epidemic, if we are\u00a0seeing\u00a0only 30\u00a0per cent,\u00a0can we sit down and review our approach?\u201d\u00a0asked the agency\u2019s head for Africa.\u00a0<\/p>\n The town of\u00a0Aru, also in\u00a0Ituri\u00a0province,\u00a0provides\u00a0an example of what this shift in strategy could achieve. No new cases have been recorded there for two weeks,\u00a0representing\u00a0a real \u201csuccess\u00a0story\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr.\u00a0Janabi\u00a0said\u00a0that after a case was detected, teams\u00a0identified\u00a0159 contacts, including 121 people\u00a0who were\u00a0considered suspected cases.\u00a0However,\u00a0response was not limited to\u00a0monitoring\u00a0these individuals\u00a0and\u00a0was extended to surrounding communities<\/strong>, from which many patients\u00a0originate.\u00a0<\/p>\n Moreover, healthcare facilities are being\u00a0established\u00a0\u2013\u00a0and awareness campaigns\u00a0conducted\u00a0\u2013\u00a0so\u00a0that residents no longer\u00a0have to\u00a0travel to Bunia for treatment. The\u00a0objective\u00a0is twofold: to\u00a0treat patients earlier and to prevent the provincial\u00a0capital from becoming a hub for both patients and\u00a0increased\u00a0risk of transmission<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u00a0have to\u00a0protect Bunia now,\u201d said Dr.\u00a0Janabi, adding that WHO\u00a0will meet with the Congolese health authorities\u00a0\u201cand see how we can build\u00a0centres\u00a0now outside Bunia so that we can content those people where they are.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n WHO also plans to add 400 beds dedicated to Ebola patients and another 100 for various health services, but the\u00a0UN\u00a0agency also insists on the need to broaden the response beyond the healthcare system alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n For example,\u00a0vendors in\u00a0markets\u00a0could install handwashing stations themselves,\u00a0he said, stressing that\u00a0the fight against Ebola must be a collective effort.\u00a0<\/p>\nUnderstanding the numbers<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Distances and deaths<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Aru\u00a0shows the way<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Centred\u00a0on community<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n