Ebola outbreak: 17 medics dead as Chinese medical team arrives in Democratic Republic of Congo | World News

Seventeen healthcare workers have died from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a World Health Organisation official has said.

A total of 75 workers have been infected.

The Ebola outbreak was confirmed in mid-May, weeks after it was suspected to have begun, meaning many medics were exposed to the disease before they even knew it was present.

The DRC outbreak has so far killed 232, people with 896 contracting the virus, according to official figures – but Oxfam has warned the actual number of cases is likely to be far higher.

The country has one of the lowest densities ​of healthcare workers relative to population, with World Health Organisation (WHO) data estimating there are around 11 per ​10,000 people.

Share

‘Situation getting worse’: Locals in Ebola outbreak epicentre

Speaking over video link in a news briefing, the organisation’s ⁠emergency director Marie ​Roseline Belizaire said: “It is a really high price that the system, the healthcare system, ‌is paying, because we don’t have enough healthcare workers in DRC.

“When ⁠they are explaining to ‌you how they live it, ‌how they were infected … [it] can break your heart.”

The WHO is giving psychological support to some medics who were too scared to treat patients, having ⁠watched many of their colleagues fall ill.

Ms Belizaire added that a Chinese medical team has arrived in the DRC to help fight the rapidly spreading virus, while Uganda – where there have been 19 cases and two deaths – is also sending a team.

Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday that the number of cases in the DRC had increased by 38% in just one week.

The outbreak is three times worse than a previous one in Uganda in 2000, which had 281 cases at this stage.

The crisis has been caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccines or treatments.

Read more:
At least 34 dead in Kashmir unrest
When will Strait of Hormuz return to normal?

Oxfam said earlier this week that there has been a near-total collapse of hygiene infrastructure in the Ituri province, one of the epicentres of the virus.

The humanitarian organisation’s field data shows that only one in five health centres in the province has access to enough clean water.

Oxfam has scaled up its operations in the DRC, launching an initial $11.6m (£8.64m) six-month intervention to provide clean water and hygiene kits to 200,000 people in Ituri.

The WHO also previously announced its own £386m six-month plan to combat the outbreak.