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In an update, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said that in the last 21 days, cases of infection fell by approximately 26 per cent in province of Ituri and by 15 per cent in the province of Haut Uele.<\/p>\n
However, over the same period, North Kivu province recorded a 73 per cent increase, clearly indicating that the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak has a different transmission profile in the seven affected provinces where it has been confirmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile cases and theft are declining in some provinces, they continue to rise in others,\u201d said WHO Regional Emergency Director for Africa, Dr Marie Roseline Belizaire.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose patterns show the outbreak is still not under control and remain spread across a wide geographic area. One of our greatest concerns is that too many people are still dying before reaching treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Belizaire explained that around one in three new cases of infection are only identified after people have died outside Ebola treatment centres<\/strong>, in the community.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are lives that could potentially have been saved through earlier detection and timely access to care,\u201d the WHO medic said, adding that every death in the community increases the risk of further transmission among family members, caregivers and others involved in traditional burial practices.<\/p>\n Although adults account for most confirmed cases of infection, children under five have the highest case fatality rate, at more than 60 per cent, compared with approximately 40 per cent among adults.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ebola infections in children under 5 are proving very hard to detect because they \u201ccan’t necessarily explain their signs and symptoms as well as adults, and the presentation (of symptoms) may be confusing,\u201d added WHO medic Dr. Catherine Smallwood.<\/p>\n Youngsters also account for a disproportionate share of those dying in the community and in health facilities where Ebola is not diagnosed in time. But \u201ctoo many new infections are still being detected without a known epidemiological link; closing the surveillance gap is essential, and we are to detect cases earlier, trace their contact, and interrupt every chain of transmission,\u201d Dr. Belizaire insisted.<\/p>\n The UN agency and partners continue to expand their reach across affected provinces, with nearly 1,400 treatment and isolation beds across 49 Ebola treatment centres. In addition, there are 25 laboratories capable of processing up to 2,500 tests every day.<\/p>\n However, infrastructure alone will not stop the outbreak, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur response is no longer simply about the scaling up everywhere; it is about directing teams, expertise, and resources to the areas where transmission is greatest and where the risks are high.\u201d However, although new health centre or Ebola treatment centre beds are becoming available every day, \u201cthe big challenge now is finding the partners that can work within those health facilities\u2026The human resources gap is one of the biggest gaps,\u201d Dr. Smallwood explained.<\/p>\n The WHO medic underscored the need to shift the response \u201cfrom the big urban centres of Beni, Butembo and Katwa in North Kivu to the province\u2019s remote villages.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cDistances are really long and it takes a long time for patients to be referred into the urban centres,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, we really need to put priority on decentralising the response to where the cases are into the villages and into the local areas.\u201d<\/p>\n Ebola disease is a severe, often fatal illness affecting humans and other primates.<\/p>\n The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals (such as fruit bats, porcupines and non-human primates); it then spreads in the human population through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people. It can also be transmitted by contact with bedding or clothing contaminated with these fluids.<\/p>\nChildren at most risk<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u201cWe must do more to identify sick children earlier and ensure that they receive appropriate treatment without delay; early detection save lives,\u201d Dr Belizaire stressed, in an online update from Kinshasa.
Ongoing efforts to ramp up the disease outbreak response have contributed to higher success in tracing contacts of infected people, now at almost 88 per cent.<\/p>\nExpanding response<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Speaking from Beni in North Kivu, WHO\u2019s Dr Smallwood highlighted the \u201cmassive mobilization\u201d of responders in recent weeks, in response to the worrying spread of infection in rural areas of DR Congo.<\/p>\nEbola facts<\/strong><\/h2>\n