Ebola Outbreak Reaches 10,000 Cases as Officials Warn of Spread

The Ebola outbreak in Africa has crossed 10,000 cases and could reach the UK and other countries, according to the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of the latest counts, 10,091 people have been infected. The Democratic Republic of the Congo accounts for 10,060 of those cases and 4,887 deaths. Uganda and Kenya have each recorded two deaths. Dr Jean Kaseya, the Africa CDC director general, compared the spread to the Covid-19 pandemic, which moved from China to countries worldwide. "We want all countries to know that they are not safe if they don't take appropriate measures," he said.

The outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is the 17th there since Ebola was first identified. Sequencing shows the virus was circulating by February, and the country's health ministry declared an outbreak in Ituri province on 15 May. The virus has since reached Kenya and Uganda. In west Africa, Nigeria confirmed a case in Abuja last week in a woman who had arrived from Uganda. France reported one case in June, in a doctor returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. That is the only confirmed case outside Africa.

The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola has no approved treatment. Kaseya said vaccine trials are under way and results are expected in three to six months. The outbreak is the largest and deadliest in the country's history. Response work has been held up by shortages of protective equipment, unpaid health worker wages that have led to strikes, conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, mistrust of officials in affected areas, misinformation, and cuts to global aid.

Funding for the response falls short of pledges already made. Kaseya said governments have pledged $3bn, or £2.3bn, and that more than $2bn remains outstanding. African countries have committed $120m. The balance is expected from international donors, including the US, the UK, and the EU. "We need this money now," Kaseya said. He added that further spread would raise costs sharply: "If we have other countries affected we'll be talking about trillions of dollars because it will require a lot of support to stop this outbreak."

Kaseya is convening a meeting of African health ministers on Wednesday to press for cross-border cooperation and screening at points of entry and exit for people arriving from affected regions. "The main message to ministers is that they have to understand they could be affected, and we don't want them to be surprised by what could happen," he said. He plans to raise the issue of access for health workers in conflict zones at a meeting with African heads of state in November, where he will seek what he called a "corridor of peace" in areas of insecurity. "Currently, we have colleagues in Ituri who want to go and support the population, but they cannot because of insecurity," he said.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 4,887 deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two in Uganda, and two in Kenya. Vaccine trial results are due in three to six months.