EU: DR Congo ceasefire a 'health emergency' given Ebola outbreak

An Ebola outbreak raging in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has made it even more urgent to broker a ceasefire for the conflict-ravaged region, the European Union's crisis management commissioner said during a visit Sunday.

The EU said it had flown in 100 tonnes of humanitarian aid Sunday -- including medicine, tents and protective gear to fight the haemorrhagic fever -- to hard-to-reach Ituri province, the epicentre of the epidemic.

Ituri is difficult to access because of poor roads, and is plagued by insecurity because of numerous armed groups operating in the region, including the Rwanda-backed M23, which has seized vast swathes of territory.

Hadja Lahbib, the EU commissioner for crisis management, visited the provincial capital, Bunia, calling for humanitarian and health workers in the region to be guaranteed access to people in need.

"A ceasefire was already a political necessity. Now it's become a health emergency," she told journalists.

The World Health Organization has declared an international health emergency over the outbreak.

In an updated toll Sunday, the DRC government said the country had 488 confirmed cases and 86 deaths in the epidemic, which it announced on May 15.

The WHO has reported another 19 cases in neighbouring Uganda.

There is no specific vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo Ebola strain behind the latest outbreak.

The European Commission said in a statement that a "humanitarian air bridge" to Bunia, which it has established with UNICEF, flew in the 100 tonnes of aid.

Lahbib said five more flights were planned for Bunia airport, a key logistics hub in the epidemic response.