Geneva, May 25, (dpa/GNA) – The Ebola outbreak in Africa is likely to worsen further before it is brought under control, according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO). “We are facing an extremely serious and difficult outbreak. It will get worse before it gets better,” Tedros told African health ministers during an online meeting on Monday.
Every effort is being made to get equipment into the affected region, and to advance containment measures, he said. This includes, for example, gaining the trust of the population and isolating people who have been in contact with those who may be infected. “We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment, the epidemic is outpacing us,” he added.
The WHO director said he would travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday.
According to the latest figures, there are more than 900 suspected cases of Ebola in the outbreak, and more than 200 patients have died.
The government there has confirmed more than 100 cases through laboratory tests, including 10 confirmed Ebola deaths.
GNA