Ebola: Over 2,000 dead in DR Congo as virus gathers pace
Authorities in the DRC say the Ebola virus is killing faster than any outbreak on record. Scientists say it began sooner than thought, may have
Authorities in the DRC say the Ebola virus is killing faster than any outbreak on record. Scientists say it began sooner than thought, may have been transmitted from animals to humans and is gaining momentum. Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said on Tuesday that an outbreak of a particularly virulent strain of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus currently raging in the east and northeast of the country has killed more than 2,000 people since the first case was confirmed. In all, more than 4,380 infections have been recorded. The current outbreak is the 17th ever recorded in the DRC, with Sania Nishtar of the Gavi global vaccine alliance warning it could become "the largest outbreak ever." Until now, the worst outbreak recorded in the DRC was the one that took place from 2018 to 2020 when some 3,500 infections led to 2,300 deaths. The pace of death is gathering momentum this time around, with the virus spreading faster and exhibiting a higher mortality rate than the 2014-2016 West African outbreak — the worst outbreak on record, which logged 28,000 infections and more than 11,000 deaths. Congo's Ebola outbreak exceeds 4,000 cases To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The current DRC outbreak was declared on May 15, but health authorities say the first transmissions likely took place in February of earlier still.
The 1,000-death mark was not reached until nine weeks in, now — in just three-weeks' time — that figure has doubled again. The case fatality rate of the current outbreak is 45.9% compared to 39.6% in the 2014-2016 West African outbreak. 'We haven't reached the peak yet,' says DRC health minister Though there are vaccines against some strains of the Ebola virus, there are currently none approved for the rare Bundibugyo strain that is spreading across the DRC faster than health authorities can trace it. Moreover, health authorities face massive logistics challenges due to the volatile security situation in the country, where bad roads and rebel violence coupled with lack of healthcare worker pay and mass strikes make it increasingly difficult to keep tabs on the illness. "We haven't reached the peak yet," said Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba in an interview shared by the ministry on X. "Within the next three months, we expect to have already brought the spread under control and to start seeing it decline," he added. Ebola, which is transmitted through physical contact with bodily fluids, causing a hemorrhagic fever, has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past half century.
The BriefWire