The Ebola virus epidemic in Africa could worsen further before the situation begins to be brought under control, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), warned on Monday.
"We are facing an extremely serious and difficult epidemic. Things will get worse before they get better," Dr. Tedros said, addressing African health ministers during a meeting held via video conference.
Every effort is being made to get equipment and materials to the affected area and to implement measures to contain the epidemic, he continued. This includes efforts to ensure the trust of the population and the isolation of contacts of possible cases, he explained.
"We are urgently intensifying operations, but so far the epidemic is moving faster than us," he estimated.
The head of the WHO announced that he plans to travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo today.
According to the latest figures from the health ministry of the vast central African country, more than 900 suspected cases of Ebola have been recorded and more than 200 patients have died. 100 of the cases were confirmed by laboratory tests, as were 10 of the deaths, according to the source.
Source: protothema.gr
