West Congo ebola cases up to 60, funerals a risk, says WHO

An Ebola survivor who works as a nurse, cares for a patient who is suspected to be suffering from Ebola, inside the Biosecure Emergency Care Unit (CUBE) at the Ebola treatment centre in Katwa, near Butembo, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, October 3, 2019. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo

Ebola cases in western Democratic Republic of Congo have risen to 60, with funerals a particular concern for disease spread, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

WHO emergencies expert Mike Ryan said another three cases were detected at the weekend, making a total of 56 confirmed and four probable infections in an outbreak announced last month in Congo’s Equateur province.

“The disease is active, not controlled,” Ryan told a virtual briefing from the U.N. agency’s headquarters in Geneva, noting burial practices as a worry.