Clinic in DR Congo’s Ebola epicenter ‘overwhelmed’ with patients
A hospital in the Ebola-hit region of Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo is overwhelmed by the huge number of patients.
The Elikya clinic is one of the many other hospitals in the region seeing a huge surge of patients amid low supplies.
“We’re overwhelmed because, given the influx of patients, we have a lot of patients but nowhere to put them. We’re in the process of getting organised and we hope that in a short time the centre will be up and running and we’ll be able to address these problems,” said Yazid Yassin, the medical director of the Elikya clinic.
The outbreak has hit three provinces, with the epicentre in Ituri, which the Africa CDC says accounts for 90 percent of confirmed cases and 76 percent of confirmed deaths.
According to the WHO’s latest figures, there are 381 confirmed cases in the DRC, including 64 deaths.
The Ebola outbreak was declared on 15 May in northeastern DRC. Still, health authorities believe that the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which is quite rare, had already been circulating under the radar for some time.
“Yes, managing it is complicated because we’re in the rising phase, with new cases coming in all the time. The population itself hasn’t yet accepted or agreed to do what’s needed to eradicate this disease. That’s how it is: we’re in a phase where we’re going to have a lot of patients, but measures are being put in place to address that, including communication and raising awareness. I hope that in a short time we’re going to, we’re going to eradicate this disease,” said Yazid.
Ebola, which is spread through close contact and bodily fluids, has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.
