Brazzaville, July 23: A severe deficit of vaccines, therapeutic medicines, and research funding is severely hindering efforts to contain an Ebola surge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where fatalities have crossed the 1,000 mark. Health authorities confirmed that 2,473 individuals have contracted the deadly virus since the outbreak was formally declared on May 15 in Ituri province.
Speaking at a regional health gathering in Ghana, Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya attributed the rising mortality rate directly to a lack of medical countermeasures.
“People are dying because we are helpless and because we don’t have the vaccines, we don’t have proper medicine, and we don’t have funding for research,” Dr Kaseya declared.
He affirmed that without immediate support, the situation risks overwhelming regional health systems.
“The Ebola outbreak is escalating at an alarming pace. We must act now,” Dr Kaseya maintained. “If we do not stop it today, this will become the worst outbreak the world has ever documented.”
The virus, which spreads through close physical contact and exposure to infected bodily fluids, has placed 737 patients in hospital care or strict isolation. Cross-border transmission has also begun, with the World Health Organisation reporting two deaths from the Bundibugyo strain in Uganda.
Health analysts note that the velocity of the current surge exceeds all historical precedents. While the massive 2013–2016 epidemic required nearly eight months to record 1,000 deaths, the ongoing outbreak achieved the same figure in merely two and a half months, signaling a critical threat to regional stability.
