Ebola is spreading faster than they can track it in eastern Congo, where health workers managed to track one in five people diagnosed in one day.
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reported 83 confirmed infections, 746 suspected cases and 1,603 identified contacts as of May 21, according to the health ministry.
However, health workers were able to trace only 342 contacts that day – about 21 percent of the total number of people under care – according to ministry data released on Friday.
Statistics show the response is due to the outbreak itself, even as governments and international organizations are taking emergency measures after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on May 17.
The outbreak has now spread to three provinces, including South Kivu, where officials confirmed the incident this week near Bukavu, a large town near the border of Congo and Rwanda.
Two cases were confirmed earlier this week in neighboring Uganda, with health officials warning that insecurity, population movements and distrust of authorities are hampering efforts to track infections and isolate patients.
