Aid supplies reach heart of Ebola outbreak

BUNIA (AP):

Aid workers rushed supplies yesterday to the centre of Congo’s outbreak of a rare type of Ebola virus, while beleaguered medical personnel struggled with a lack of equipment, a distrustful population and armed groups in a volatile region.

A white cargo plane carrying aid donated by the European Union delivered masks, gloves, boots and medication — all in short supply — to the north-eastern town of Bunia, at the heart of the outbreak in Congo’s Ituri province. UN-branded forklifts lifted several cases on to trucks.

Health workers with scant supplies have been struggling to contain an outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus, a strain of Ebola for which there is no approved treatment or vaccine. In some areas, doctors have resorted to using expired medical masks while treating suspected patients.

The dangers faced by health workers have been heightened by anger among residents over strict medical protocols for handling the bodies of victims, which clash with local burial rites. Residents have launched at least three attacks on health centres in Ituri province.

Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said that, during outbreaks, people in remote communities can feel overwhelmed by the influx of information and personnel.

“We’ve seen in every epidemic that there’s always resistance,” Kamba said. “Communities always ask themselves, ‘What’s going on?’ And in epidemics like this one, it is really risk communication and community engagement that ultimately change perceptions.”

Aid donated by the EU is expected to arrive in batches over the next eight days, Jérôme Kouachi, head of emergency operations at UNICEF in Congo, said.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was on his way to Congo to observe the response first-hand. The WHO has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern in an effort to scale up aid.

The United States said yesterday it is increasing its assistance to Congo and Uganda by US$80 million, bringing its total commitment to more than US$112 million since the outbreak began.

The additional funding will pay for personal protective equipment for healthcare workers, Ebola test kits, support for health screening at airports and contact tracing, the US State Department said.

Dr Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control, said the organisation believed on Monday it had secured funding pledges of nearly US$500 million towards Africa’s emergency response. However, by Thursday afternoon, that figure had fallen to US$290 million as partners withdrew or reduced their commitments.

He also said that the Africa CDC hopes to have treatments and a vaccine for the Bundibugyo virus by the end of the year, noting that some vaccine candidates are already in development.

The Congolese government has confirmed more than 1,000 suspected cases, with at least 220 deaths, since it declared the outbreak on May 15. However, the virus had been spreading undetected for weeks, and the WHO believes the outbreak is far larger than reported.