An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has infected 1,307 people and killed 377 since it was declared on May 15, the government said.
The United Nations said the outbreak could cost Africa up to $3.6 billion and lead to hundreds of thousands of job losses if it spreads more widely.
The Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no tested vaccine or treatment, has also produced a smaller number of cases in Uganda. Experts have warned it could spread to neighboring countries, including South Sudan.
“If we have the resources and we step up, we can contain this outbreak and prevent further losses,” said Damien Mama, United Nations Development Programme resident representative in Congo.
“If we do not, this health emergency risks becoming a much deeper and prolonged development crisis across the region, and potentially the continent.”
The U.N. Development Programme outlined three scenarios. In its best-case scenario, with the outbreak contained in Congo and Uganda, Congo’s gross domestic product would take a $1 billion hit, the report said.
In the worst-case scenario, the disease spreads to other countries, including Rwanda and Angola, and coincides with higher fuel costs linked to the Iran crisis, reducing Africa’s GDP by $3.6 billion and costing 328,000 jobs, the report said.
Ituri province, affected by conflict, is the center of Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak, which began in May. The virus has spread in some cases during funerals, where Ebola victims’ bodies are handled.
Last week, the government banned public gatherings in four provinces, including the capital, Kinshasa, as it sought to limit the outbreak’s spread.
The order came before a planned July 8 protest in Kinshasa against constitutional reform, and opposition figures called the ban “politically motivated.”