Congo Ebola outbreak still out of control after six months

GENEVA: Six months into Congo’s Ebola outbreak, many cases are likely being missed, transmission in hospitals in some areas is rife and the virus is still spreading out of control, Médecins Sans Frontières said on Thursday.

With the number of confirmed cases now surpassing 11,000, the outbreak — declared in mid-May and caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of the virus, for which there are no approved treatments or vaccines — is the second-worst on record.

Help, however, is not reaching those who need it most, the medical charity said, pointing to untrained and unpaid staff, ambulances without fuel and a lack of surveillance teams and supplies to safely manage suspected cases.