Fear has gripped Ebola-hit areas in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as the suspected number of deaths continues to rise, as officials say they are struggling to catch up to an outbreak that may have previously been spreading undetected.
Ebola has tortured us, says a taxi rider in his late twenties in the gold-mining town of Rwampara.
I am scared because people are dying very fast... We are really afraid. Following a visit to Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, over the weekend, Congolese Health Minister Dr Samuel Roger Kamba acknowledged health teams were playing catch-up with the virus, which may have been circulating earlier than first detected on 24 April.
The presumed patient zero is a nurse who died in the provincial capital Bunia but was buried in Mongwalu, also a gold-mining town. Most of the suspected cases and deaths have been reported there and in neighbouring Rwampara.
As of Tuesday, there were 514 suspected cases, with 136 people believed to have died from the virus, officials said. Cases have also been identified in Butembo city and rebel-controlled Goma in North Kivu province, as well as in South Kivu province.
The outbreak has been caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. DR Congo is currently facing its 17th outbreak of Ebola and is more familiar with the Zaïre strain. Health officials warn that the spread of the virus into large urban centres presents serious challenges.
The US has announced $13m in emergency assistance for DR Congo and Uganda and says it is considering further funding through the UN's pooled humanitarian fund, alongside travel restrictions linked to the outbreak.
