Africa's Ebola outbreak is spiraling out of control, with the death toll surpassing 200 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the epicenter of the crisis. Arson attacks on clinics and mass escapes by patients are shaking containment efforts to their core.
Death Toll Reaches 204, 10 Countries at Risk; WHO Raises Threat to Highest Level
According to AFP on Sunday (local time), the DR Congo government officially announced that 204 of 867 suspected cases have died in the current Ebola outbreak.
The figure represents an increase of 27 from the 177 deaths the World Health Organization (WHO) reported the previous day. The WHO raised the national risk level from "high" to "very high," determining that the Ebola virus is spreading rapidly in the region.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned that 10 countries, including DR Congo, Uganda, Angola, Burundi and the Central African Republic, have entered the risk zone. "Frequent movement of residents in this region and unstable security conditions are accelerating the spread of the disease," the center said.
The chaos is also visible on the ground. According to the AP, in Mongbwalu in the east, residents protesting authorities' containment measures set fire to a tent clinic, burning it to the ground. In the ensuing confusion, 18 suspected patients fled and went missing.
On the 21st, a similar incident occurred in the village of Rwampara, when residents whose access to retrieve family members' bodies was blocked erupted in anger, leading to a clinic fire.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said the same day that three volunteers among the Ebola fatalities are believed to have been infected around March 27 while carrying out missions in the field. If accurate, this would push back the timeline of the current Ebola outbreak by about a month from previous estimates. DR Congo health authorities believe the first death occurred in late April in the northeastern province of Ituri.
Countries Tighten Border Controls; Actual Infections May Far Exceed Official Tally
Countries are moving swiftly to raise containment barriers to prevent Ebola from entering their borders.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) designated Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as an additional airport for enhanced Ebola screening, following Washington Dulles International Airport.
The U.S. is admitting travelers with a history of stay in DR Congo, Uganda or South Sudan within the past 21 days only through these designated airports, and has temporarily suspended visa issuance for foreigners who have visited Ebola-affected regions. Even permanent residents with such travel history face restrictions on re-entry.
The U.K. is operating a monitoring program that tracks the movements of travelers arriving from Ebola-affected countries and manages the health status of its citizens traveling to infected regions.
International health organizations expect that the actual scale of infection may significantly exceed the official tally, given the high positive rates in initial tests and the continued increase in suspected cases.
Ebola virus disease is an acute febrile and hemorrhagic illness caused by Ebola virus infection. Transmission occurs through contact with infected animals or direct or indirect contact with the blood or bodily fluids of infected individuals or the deceased. In Korea, it is classified and managed as a Class 1 infectious disease.
