Ahead of the World Cup in North America, Congo’s soccer team canceled a farewell event for fans in Kinshasa, due of the outbreak.
Healthcare workers and aid groups in eastern Congo said Thursday they are in dire need of more supplies and staff to respond to a growing Ebola outbreak linked to a rare virus, as armed groups continue to threaten a region already grappling with a displacement and humanitarian crisis.
“The situation is worrying because this is gaining momentum,” Hama Amado, a field coordinator in the city of Bunia for the Alima aid group, told The Associated Press. “This is spreading in many areas. So everyone must mobilize.”
He added: “We are still far from saying that the situation is under control.”
There is no available vaccine or medicine for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak, which spread undetected for weeks following the first known death while authorities tested for a more common Ebola virus.
Healthcare workers and aid groups are struggling to respond as experts say the outbreak is much larger than what has been officially reported. Authorities have so far announced 139 suspected deaths and nearly 600 suspected cases.
On Thursday, the M23 rebel group that controls parts of eastern Congo reported a confirmed case near the major city of Bukavu, some 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the outbreak’s epicenter in Ituri Pronvince. The person died, M23 said in a statement.
As well as Ituri, other cases have been confirmed in North Kivu province and two in Uganda. But the announcement by M23 was the first confirmation of a case in South Kivu.
Health officials have not yet found “patient zero,” according to the World Health Organization, which has said that the threat of a global spread of the outbreak is low.
