The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it needs an additional 5,000 health workers to support efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The highly contagious disease, which was officially detected on May 15, has spread to six provinces across the conflict-affected eastern and northeastern parts of the country.
According to the WHO, 3,175 people have died from the outbreak, while more than 6,600 confirmed cases have been recorded, based on official figures from the Congolese authorities.
The health system in the affected areas is struggling with shortages of medical personnel and resources as the number of Ebola cases continues to rise.
Ebola is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and can cause severe bleeding, organ failure and death.
To strengthen the response, the WHO said it is working towards establishing 3,000 beds across Ebola treatment centres in the country.
Luca Fontana, a senior technical official with the UN health agency, said three medical workers are required to care for each patient, meaning about 9,000 health workers would need to be trained to fully staff the planned treatment capacity.
“More than 900 beds have been built within the first two months of the response, and we have now reached close to 1,400 beds across 59 treatment centres,” he told a press briefing in Geneva.
“Despite this extraordinary effort, we estimate that another 1,600 beds will be required to meet the rapidly growing needs,” he continued.
“Right now we have nearly 4,000 healthcare workers currently working inside the treatment centres. So it means we need 5,000 more.”
Fontana said the Congolese Health Ministry was working urgently to identify qualified medical personnel from other parts of the country who could be deployed to the affected provinces.
“The problem is to identify those fast enough to make sure that we can cover the growing need,” he explained.
He stressed the importance of adequately staffing the treatment centres, saying, “Every treatment centre that is fully staffed and functional means more life saved and a stronger chance of bringing this outbreak under control.”
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment. However, several vaccines and treatments are undergoing testing.
The outbreak has particularly affected areas in northern and eastern DRC where government presence is limited, healthcare infrastructure is inadequate and armed groups have operated for decades.
Fontana said the pattern of infections was also changing, with patients initially arriving mainly from Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province, but increasingly coming from villages “far beyond” the original epicentre.
He described the development as “a clear sign” that the outbreak was spreading and said the WHO response “must adapt” accordingly.
Ebola has claimed more than 15,000 lives across Africa over the past five decades.
The previous deadliest Ebola outbreak in the DRC, recorded between 2018 and 2020, killed nearly 2,300 people out of about 3,500 reported cases.
