Congo’s Ebola outbreak is on track to surpass the deadliest one in history, WHO chief says
Health authorities say the Bundibugyo strain has killed over 2,100 people and has no approved vaccine or treatment.
- On Wednesday, World Health Organization officials warned the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak is the fastest-growing on record, with 4,566 confirmed cases and 2,128 deaths threatening to surpass the 2014-16 West African epidemic.
- Genomic sequencing indicates the rare Bundibugyo Ebola strain began circulating in February after jumping from an animal to a person, though authorities only declared the emergency on May 15, granting the virus a lethal head start.
- Health authorities report more than 80% of new cases occur outside monitored contact lists, while strikes at the Nizi Treatment Centre and widespread misinformation further hinder response efforts in affected provinces.
- Africa Regional Director Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi admitted response teams are struggling to keep pace, stating, "We are chasing the virus; the virus is ahead of us," as the disease spreads to a sixth province.
- Scientists have launched clinical trials for a Bundibugyo vaccine and potential therapies, as the WHO targets bringing the outbreak under control within three months to prevent it from overtaking the deadliest epidemic in history.
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Channel News Asia
Ebola outbreak spreads to sixth DR Congo province
The Ebola outbreak has killed more than 2,128 people so far.
Ebola outbreak in DR Congo affects only 2,000 people. Now har viruses spread sig til endnu and provins.
The Ebola epidemic in Congo continues to spread. According to African health organization Africa CDC, at an unprecedented rate. Currently, a sixth province of the country is being captured, and there is even a threat of an attack on a neighbouring country.
The Ebola epidemic, which advances at an unprecedented pace, reached a sixth province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in the north of the country, informed on Thursday (14) the director of the African Union health agency (Africa CDC), Jean Kaseya. The DRC declared on May 15, several weeks late, its 17th Ebola epidemic, already considered the largest in its history and on the way to becoming the most lethal.
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