Photo courtesy of Anadolu
Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo need about 1,600 more Ebola treatment beds as a rapidly expanding outbreak pushes existing facilities closer to capacity, the World Health Organization said.
WHO technical officer Luca Fontana said nearly 1,400 beds had already been established across 59 treatment facilities, a sharp increase from the early stages of the response. The agency estimates that about 3,000 beds will ultimately be needed.
Patients have been arriving from communities well beyond Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, prompting health officials to push for more decentralized treatment centers that can reach cases closer to where transmission is occurring.
The scale-up will also require a major increase in staffing. WHO estimates that three health workers are needed for every patient, meaning about 9,000 personnel would have to be trained and deployed if treatment capacity reaches 3,000 beds.
As of Sept. 6, the DRC had recorded 6,686 confirmed cases and 3,226 deaths, equivalent to a case fatality ratio of about 48 percent. Ituri remained the main center of transmission, although cases have also been reported in other affected provinces.
WHO has described the epidemic as the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record and the fastest-moving it has encountered. The outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment, although vaccine and therapeutic candidates are undergoing trials.
The response is being complicated by insecurity, population displacement and transport disruptions in eastern Congo. WHO has warned that these conditions can delay supplies, restrict access to communities and make surveillance and contact tracing more difficult.
WHO and Africa CDC have been seeking additional international funding to expand treatment, testing, surveillance and community-based response efforts. Health officials have warned that financial requirements could continue to rise if transmission spreads to additional areas.