DRC Ebola Cases On The Rise

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is spreading more quickly than before.

The warning comes after the number of new cases increased over the past two weeks. As it stands an estimated 676 have died, with 406 more infected since the initial cases were detected eight months ago.

The announcement is a set back as WHO had previously projected that the outbreak could be brought to an end by September based on signs that cases appeared to be contained and following a reduction in the number of new cases. 

In the last week 72 new cases were recorded, up from 57 the previous week and 25 earlier in 2019.

Efforts to combat the disease continue to suffer obstacles as a result of militia violence, with five Ebola centres coming under attack in the past two months.