Good morning, good afternoon and good evening. I would like to begin today’s briefing with an update on the Ebola outbreak in the Equateur province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The outbreak continues to increase and to spread geographically. Yesterday, the 100th case was reported, with 43 deaths in 11 health zones across the province.
There is currently a delay of about 5 days from the onset of symptoms to when an alert about a suspected case is raised. This is concerning, because the longer a patient goes without treatment, the lower their chances of survival, and the longer the virus can spread unseen in communities.