Death toll tops 1,500 in fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history, Congo says
Officials say 3,442 cases have been recorded and contact tracing is still below the 95% target needed to stop transmission.
- On Thursday, Congo officials reported the Ebola outbreak has killed 1,521 people, a 50% spike in around a week. As of Tuesday, 3,442 cases had been recorded across the country.
- The outbreak, declared May 15, involves the Bundibugyo virus, which currently lacks approved vaccines or treatments. Most cases are concentrated in remote Ituri province, accounting for nearly 90% of infections, though the virus has reached Kisangani.
- Contact tracing remains insufficient, with only around 78% of known contacts monitored compared to the 95% target needed to interrupt transmission. This outbreak is killing people faster than the 2014-2016 epidemic, which saw over 11,000 deaths.
- International aid groups including the World Health Organization, Africa CDC, Samaritan's Purse, and Mercy Corps withdrew following a July 15 hospital attack. Local officials say security has stabilized, with Africa CDC teams potentially redeploying as soon as next week.
- Neighboring Uganda declared itself free of Ebola on Tuesday after discharging its last patient in mid-June, providing a regional contrast to Congo's escalating outbreak. This demonstrates different containment outcomes across the region.
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lrytas.ltThe Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to spread rapidly. The virus has killed 1,521 people since the end of April, the government said. The number of laboratory-confirmed infections has risen to 3,442. Authorities say the fatality rate is currently 44 percent, meaning nearly half of all confirmed infections end in death.
Congo says death toll in fastest-growing Ebola outbreak has passed 1,500
The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak has killed more than 1,500 people in eastern Congo, official data released on Thursday showed, marking a 50 per cent increase in around a week that shows the emergency continuing to outpace response efforts.
The fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak in history continues to worsen, with the WHO saying the risk of spread within Congo remains extremely high.
It aggravates the balance of one of the fastest-growing emergencies in the history of the virus
Since the outbreak, more than 1,500 deaths have already been confirmed, and international experts have warned of a much greater real spread of the virus.
The Ebola virus spreads in the Democratic Republic of Congo as quickly as never before. For many people it is not clear where they have been infected.
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