Infectious disease specialist Laurens Liesenborghs and his team from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp have arrived in Bunia, the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo. The epidemic is now ‘deeply rooted in the region’, the doctor told VRT NEWS. Together with his colleagues, he is trying to stem its spread by working flat out on a treatment.
Flemish doctor fights Ebola in eastern Congo: ‘The virus is deeply entrenched in the region’
Colin Clapson
Published:
Liesenborghs and his team arrived in the Congolese town of Bunia, where the Ebola virus has been spreading like wildfire among the local population for weeks on Saturday night.
In Congo, some 246 deaths have been recorded out of more than 1,000 suspected cases. “It is likely that most cases remain undetected,” says the infectious disease specialist.
According to Liesenborghs, however, it is difficult to say anything with certainty due to problems with testing capacity. ‘Many people are not being tested, and barely 20 per cent of high-risk cases are being properly monitored. That is a major problem.’
Aid organisation MSF also describes the situation as ‘alarming’. ‘Never before have so many cases been recorded so soon after the official announcement of an outbreak,’ it said in a statement at the weekend. ‘The reality is that nobody knows the true scale and severity of this outbreak.’
Meanwhile, the virus is spreading to Congo’s neighbouring countries. However, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the likelihood of Ebola spreading globally is relatively low.
Testing scaling up
Nevertheless, Liesenborghs remains hopeful. “Testing capacity here is expanding by the day. At the start, only 40 tests per day were possible; now it’s already 300. Our Congolese colleagues are working day and night.”
At the same time, new medication is on the way, which the infectious disease specialist and his team are set to test extensively. ‘We know that this medication already works well on animals. The next step is to test it on humans as well, in an attempt to reduce the mortality rate.’