Ebola outbreak may be spreading faster than first thought, WHO doctor warns
People living close to the epicentre of a deadly Ebola outbreak have told the BBC of their fear, as the World Health Organization (WHO) warned cases may be spreading faster than originally thought.
One man in the Democratic Republic of Congo's north-eastern Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, said infected people were dying "very fast", and added: "Ebola has tortured us."
The virus has killed 131 people in the DR Congo, and officials say more than 513 cases are now suspected in the country. One person has died in neighbouring Uganda.
The WHO's Dr Anne Ancia told the BBC that the more the UN agency investigates the outbreak, the clearer it becomes cases have spread to other areas.
Modelling by the London-based MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis released on Monday suggested there had been "substantial" under-detection, and that it could not rule out there had already been more than 1,000 cases.
The study suggested that the current outbreak is "larger than currently ascertained" and that its "true magnitude remains uncertain".
A man who spoke to BBC News and identified himself as Bigboy said people are "really scared" and doing what they can to protect themselves.
He said locals are taking precautions such as washing hands with clean water, but added that he wished they could get access to other protective supplies such as face masks.Another Ituri local, Alfred Giza, said people in the community are aware of the threat and waiting to receive face masks to protect themselves, but that he would not know what to do if a family member or friend contracted the disease.
The Red Cross warned that Ebola can escalate quickly if cases are not identified early, communities lack information and health systems are overwhelmed, adding "we are seeing all those conditions" in the current outbreak.
On Tuesday, DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi called for "calm" and urged Congolese citizens to remain vigilant, after holding a crisis meeting on Monday evening.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who declared the outbreak an international emergency last week, said he was "deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic".
It is feared the outbreak may have been ongoing for several weeks before it was first detected on 24 April.
There is no vaccine for the strain of Ebola virus fuelling the latest rise in cases, but the WHO is evaluating whether other drugs may provide protection.
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