NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — More than 1,100 people were suspected of having contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighboring Uganda, the head of the African Union’s health agency said on Sunday in a commentary for the Financial Times.
Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director general Jean Kaseya said there were 263 confirmed cases in both countries as of Saturday, with 43 confirmed deaths.
More than 1,100 suspected cases were still being investigated, he wrote in the editorial. On Thursday, the Africa CDC said there had been 246 suspected deaths from the virus.
“We must move at the speed of the epidemic,” added Kaseya, criticizing Africa’s dependence on outside financial support.
The health ministers of the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan recently adopted a $319-million response plan to the outbreak.
“That momentum must now expand across the continent,” Kaseya said, calling the latest Ebola outbreak a “serious test” for the Africa CDC and the African Union.
“This outbreak will not be the last,” he added.
The outbreak was declared on 15 May in Ituri, in the northeast DRC, which is home to more than 100 million people and is one of the poorest countries in the world.
The virus, which can cause a deadly hemorrhagic fever, has been detected in three Congolese provinces as well as in Uganda.
No vaccine or approved treatment is available against the Bundibugyo strain of the virus and efforts to contain its spread rely mainly on preventative measures.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has triggered an international health alert but the true scale of the outbreak is not yet known.
International health authorities believe that current figures are likely an underestimation.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus continued a visit to Ituri province on Sunday and has pledged support to local communities affected by the outbreak.