WHO warns of playing catch up with large Ebola outbreak

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The World Health Organization (WHO) said the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda is worsening, as organizations are playing catch up with an outbreak that was likely occurring for weeks before it was identified. 

“We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, told the press yesterday, adding that countries bordering the DRC should take action to enhance surveillance at border crossings. 

Tedros will be traveling to the DRC today to assess the situation. Yesterday he said there were an estimated 220 deaths, with more than 930 suspected cases. Uganda has also now reported seven cases of the deadly virus. 

More attacks on treatment centers 

Over the weekend at least two Ebola medical center was attacked and looted, with family members demanding the return of a body for burial. During an arson attack in Ituri on Saturday, at least 18 Ebola patients left a center that was being attacked and are now unaccounted for. 

Finally, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will now be using enhanced public health entry screening for Ebola. Washington-Dulles International Airport began enhanced surveillance last week. 

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