GENEVA, Nov 13 (Reuters) – UN health officials on Friday hailed progress in the Ebola response six months after the outbreak first prompted global concerns, but cautioned that the disease continues to spread to more remote and dangerous parts of Congo.
With the number of confirmed cases now surpassing 11,000, the outbreak is the second-worst for Ebola on record and has spread to parts of east, central and west Africa.
Flagged by health authorities in mid-May, the outbreak is driven by the rare Bundibugyo species of the virus, for which there are no approved treatments or vaccines.
“We do see encouraging signs,” said Chikwe Ihekweazu, head of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme, citing falling cases in former hotspots like Bunia in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
“But what we have seen now is the emergence of cases in more rural and more difficult-to-reach areas … The biggest challenge the response faces right now is the rising insecurity,” he said, citing WHO data showing 80 attacks on health sites and workers so far.
French medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières has been more downbeat on the Ebola response, saying that supplies are missing and the virus is still spreading out of control.
Julien Harneis, the UN’s special Ebola coordinator, said in response to the criticism: “The area of operation is vast, just unimaginable vast…But 80% of the time, and across this vast area, we’re able to operate.”
(Reporting by Emma FargeEditing by Ludwig Burger)
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