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"Humanitarian organisations are scaling up Ebola response operations in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as health authorities report rising cases in Ituri province, with Bunia and Rwampara among the worst hit by the outbreak. Local residents and relatives of victims described how the disease spread rapidly within households and treatment areas, sharing accounts of symptoms and deaths among family members. “He had headaches, chills, diarrhoea and vomiting,” said the wife of one victim. “He became very weak… and then he just died.” Another relative said patients placed in isolation developed severe symptoms within days, with infections spreading among those in nearby wards. At the Rwampara treatment centre, medical teams are working under strict biosecurity protocols to manage suspected and confirmed Ebola cases, as well as the handling of bodies in line with emergency health procedures, as footage shows. “As you saw, we found patients who had died, and their bodies are being managed according to the established protocol,” said Hama Amadou, Field Coordinator for the humanitarian organisation ALIMA in Ituri. "The situation is already fragile. Healthcare systems are already strained." Humanitarian organisations, including ALIMA, have called for urgent international support to strengthen treatment capacity and support overstretched medical teams working in the affected areas. “We are seeing an escalation and spread to multiple areas,” Amadou said. “An urgent mobilisation of the international community is needed to respond to this epidemic.” The World Health Organization has assessed that the risk of further spread remains high at national and regional levels, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring Uganda. WHO estimates suggest the outbreak, which has already caused more than 130 suspected deaths, could continue for at least two more months as response efforts are scaled up."
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