Death toll tops 1,500 in fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history, Congo says
Health officials said the outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo strain, with contact tracing at 78.3% and no approved vaccine or treatment.
- On Friday, the World Health Organization reported the Ebola death toll in the Democratic Republic of Congo reached 1,521, making it the second-worst outbreak on record since the virus was identified in mid-May.
- Driven by the Bundibugyo strain, the virus spreads faster than previous outbreaks, with the majority of cases concentrated in the resource-rich Ituri province where armed conflict and high population mobility complicate response efforts.
- Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa CDC, reported Thursday that contact tracing efforts remain far off target, with only 17,558 people identified of the 135,000 needed as 80% of new cases have no known links.
- More than 80% of beds in treatment centers are occupied, and officials warn they could soon be overwhelmed; Kaseya said 60% of deaths occurred in communities rather than health facilities, indicating unchecked transmission.
- A KFF analysis noted the United States response faces "significant upheaval" in global health programs, potentially affecting coordination as the outbreak continues to unfold and vaccine trials advance in Congo.
136 Articles
136 Articles
The epidemic is said to have begun on the outskirts of the mining town of Mongbwalu in the eastern province of Ituri. This is the result of a now published study.
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Congo’s Ebola outbreak started at least in January, report shows
July 31 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's fast-spreading Ebola outbreak started in January, or even earlier, in the eastern Ituri province, a report published in the journal Science showed. • The report, based on interviews with 97 people, c...
The outbreak caused by the Ebola virus, which has been spreading since April in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is the second largest disease in the history of surveillance of the spread of the virus.
Ebola: The number of registered cases stood at 3,532 on Friday, according to figures from the Congolese Ministry of Communication. There are also about 1,556…
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