WHO chief says suspected Ebola deaths at 220, says epidemic 'outpacing us'

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), stated on Monday that a total of 220 suspected Ebola deaths had occurred in the ongoing outbreak and that delays in detection had put response measures in “catch-up” mode.

"We are scaling up our efforts urgently, but for now the epidemic is moving faster than us,” Tedros said, noting that those countries that neighbour the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is the centre of the outbreak, needed to respond immediately.

On Monday, Ugandan authorities announced two new Ebola infections, raising the country’s total cases to seven.

The World Health Organisation has called the Ebola outbreak in the Congo and other countries, due to the Bundibugyo strain, a public health emergency of international concern.

Tedros announced his plan to travel to the DRC on Tuesday. He said the challenge posed by the outbreak was compounded by the presence of insecurity in the Ituri and North Kivu provinces in the Congo. There was no vaccine against the Bundibugyo virus.

The number of suspected Ebola cases stands at over 900 in the conflict-torn DRC, according to the WHO director.