Speaking two weeks on from the outbreak being declared by the World Health Organization (WHO), MSF deputy director Dr Alan Gonzales said never before had "so many cases" been recorded so soon. His comments came as WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, visited the eastern Congolese province of Ituri - the worst-hit area - to oversee virus containment efforts. There are now more than 1,000 suspected Ebola cases in the DR Congo, and at least 246 deaths. Neighbouring Uganda has reported nine confirmed cases and one death. "Two weeks after the declaration of the Ebola disease outbreak in Ituri Province, the situation is deeply alarming," Gonzalez said in a statement on Saturday. "Never before has an Ebola outbreak recorded so many cases so soon after its declaration," he said, stressing his teams on the ground were "witnessing a response that has not yet caught up to the rapid spread of the epidemic". "The reality today is that nobody knows the true scale and severity of this outbreak. New suspected cases are being reported daily, yet hundreds of samples remain untested."

Gonzalez added that containment efforts and humanitarian aid deliveries were being delayed by "major constraints", including border and airport closures. The WHO has repeatedly warned that ongoing conflict in DR Congo was also significantly hampering the Ebola outbreak response. (BBC)