WHO head says Ebola outbreak can be stopped as he arrives in DR Congo

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo can be stopped.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was speaking as he arrived in the capital, Kinshasa, on Thursday evening to oversee the response to the highly infectious disease.

He is due to travel on Friday to the eastern province of Ituri which is the epicentre of the current outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever.

“I came here to show that the communities in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu that they are not alone, and that we are here to support and we understand their pain,” he said.

Tedros said that “together, we will overcome this outbreak” vowing to do “everything in my power to help you”.

He has called for more international funding after only about a third of the needed support to deal with the virus was secured.

Efforts to deal with the outbreak are complicated by ongoing fighting in the eastern DRC and Tedros has urged the warring parties to declare a ceasefire.

“Conflict and displacement make everything harder,” he said.

“No cause, no conflict, no grievance is worth condemning innocent people to death from a preventable disease.”

Tedros also said the WHO did not support imposing travel bans on countries because they “don’t help much”.

"When countries are transparently reporting their cases, when you ban travel, it doesn't encourage them,” he said.

“Because other countries will then say, okay, if I'm going to be sanctioned or if there will be a ban imposed on me, travel ban, then they might ask why do I even report early.”

The WHO has recorded 10 confirmed and 223 suspected Ebola deaths in the DRC since is was declared on 15 May – out of more than 1,000 confirmed and suspected cases.

No vaccine or specific treatment exists yet for the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola causing the current outbreak.

The WHO said on Thursday that its advisory groups had recommended clinical trials for vaccines and treatments.