WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Agencies are on high alert amid reports that the rapidly spreading Ebola Bundibugyo virus species in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has infected 19 internally displaced people, killing five of them.
On Friday, UNHCR confirmed that at least five of the Ituri province's 69 displacement camps have reported Ebola cases, compounding what is already a devastating outbreak.
Local authorities report that there have been almost 4,000 cases of Ebola and and more than 1,800 deaths - centered on Ituri - since the outbreak was declared on May 15.
But the World Health Organization put the death toll in the latest 24-hour reporting period at 52, in addition to 99 new confirmed cases the country recorded.
Meanwhile, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and WHO have called for an urgent scale-up of the community-led Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with stronger early detection, contact follow up, access to care, support for frontline health workers, and faster delivery of resources to affected communities.
The call followed a joint high-level mission to Uganda and DRC earlier this week, which drew lessons from Uganda's successful containment of local transmission, assessed operational challenges in Bunia and brought the priorities of communities and frontline responders into high-level discussions with national leaderships in Kinshasa.
The mission was led by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Dr Jean Kaseya, Director-General of Africa CDC, and Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
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