WHO warns Ebola outbreak outpacing response as deaths hit 220

The World Health Organization has warned that the Ebola outbreak spreading through the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is outpacing response efforts, with deaths now standing at 220 and suspected cases nearing 1,000. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an African Union meeting that responders were "playing catch-up" with a "very fast-moving epidemic" after a delay in detecting cases, and the outbreak is likely to worsen before it improves. He announced he would travel to the DRC on Tuesday with Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, a senior WHO official responsible for health emergencies. The outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, has now spread to Uganda with seven confirmed cases, and WHO has declared it a public health emergency of international concern. The response is complicated by three separate attacks on healthcare facilities in the past week in Ituri province, where patients fled and tents treating Ebola cases were set ablaze. Dr. Richard Lokodu, medical director of Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital, which was attacked twice over the weekend, said there is widespread denial about the disease with some residents wanting to claim bodies of suspected cases. Community distrust has been fueled by frustration over traditional burial practices being restricted, as Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids of sick or deceased patients. The eastern DRC region is battling deep-seated skepticism alongside active armed conflict, with some residents convinced the outbreak is a hoax or "white man's invention." The influx of humanitarian resources into an area long neglected during decades of violence has spawned suspicion about motives. Compounding the crisis, surveillance for the disease has been weakened by U.S. and other aid cuts, and there are no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain. Experts from both WHO and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe the actual outbreak is significantly larger than confirmed figures indicate, with the timeline potentially dating back to late March when three Red Cross volunteers may have died after handling bodies in Mongbwalu.