WHO Chief: Ebola Outbreak in DRC Has 'Big Head Start,' Militant Attacks Hamper Efforts

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has had "a big head start and we're still behind," the World Health Organization chief says, with continued militant attacks compounding the problem.

Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) military said an attack by an Islamic State affiliate — a group known as the Allied Democratic Forces — killed 16 people in the Beni territory in North Kivu province on Tuesday.

The militants struck in response to a joint operation of Congolese and Ugandan armies, which have been battling the group that operates in the border regions of the two countries.

Last month, the group attacked Congolese villages near the Ugandan border, killing at least 40 people and burning and looting homes.

The violence has hampered efforts to combat the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo type of Ebola, which was announced in mid-May in eastern DRC's provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu.

Since then, Congolese authorities have confirmed 60 deaths in the outbreak out of 344 cases.

The number of suspected cases has gone down from 906 to 116.

Neighbouring Uganda has 15 confirmed cases, including one death, its health ministry said Tuesday.

WHO chief offers some hope for the outbreak

The agency's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said testing was improving in the struggle against Ebola, with scaled-up laboratory and diagnostic capacity, though contact tracing in DRC was not yet "where it needs to be."

"The outbreak had a big head start, and we're still behind, but under the leadership of the government of DRC, we're catching up," he said.

Mr Tedros spoke a day after returning to Geneva from DRC, where he visited the epicentre of the outbreak.

"What I saw gave me hope, although challenges remain," he said.

Mr Tedros said the outbreak may have started as early as January, but stressed the focus now should be on trying to contain it.

He also said that blanket travel restrictions imposed by some countries were "disrupting supply chains and hindering the response," asking for them to be lifted.

Mr Tedros stressed WHO recommended exit screening at airports, ports and border crossings.

He avoided a reporter's question about a US quarantine centre in Kenya where American Ebola patients would be quarantined, which has drawn protests.

"I think based on their risk assessment … they [the United States] can do whatever they think is right for them," the WHO chief said.

The outbreak struck in an extremely vulnerable region.

Experts have said the virus spread for weeks in one of the world's most vulnerable regions before lab testing confirmed it.

Resources, including protective gear, have been rushed to the outbreak for a type of Ebola with no approved medicine or vaccine.

At least five people have recovered from the virus, offering rare signs of hope.

"The true extent of the outbreak remains difficult to assess," Doctors Without Borders said about the case numbers.

"Extremely limited testing capacity and difficulties accessing certain areas necessitate interpreting these figures with caution."

Getting a potential vaccine to the region could take months.

"It's difficult to have an effective vaccine that adheres to the scientific protocol available quickly," Aruna Abedi, a Congolese epidemiologist, said.

While laboratory and diagnostic resources improve for the outbreak, Mr Tedros said the tracing of people who had contact with infected people in DRC was still behind.

"Only about 45 per cent of contacts have been followed up, and to get ahead of the outbreak, we need to get that number up to above 90 per cent," he said.

DRC has long struggled with a multitude of security crises and insecurity, which over the years created a huge and vulnerable displaced population.

Eastern DRC, where the latest Ebola outbreak is taking place, has several active armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group that seized key cities Goma and Bukavu over a year ago, and the IS affiliate.

Wary residents have attacked health centres in the outbreak, at times demanding the bodies of loved ones.

Health workers also have been battling mistaken beliefs among some residents that Ebola is not real, which has kept some from seeking care.