More than 10,000 people have been infected, and there are no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain.
KINSHASA, DR Congo – The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has passed 5,000, government data showed Friday, as authorities have yet to find a way to control the country’s deadliest outbreak of the virus on record.
More than 10,000 people have been infected since the outbreak was declared in May, and eight of the country’s 26 provinces have been affected, with many deaths occurring outside treatment centers, according to Reuters. There are no approved treatments or vaccines for the rare Bundibugyo strain. Delayed detection, conflict and strained health services have helped the virus spread more quickly than in earlier outbreaks.
The outbreak has crossed borders. Nigeria became the fourth African country to report a case last week, extending the spread to West Africa, and Kenya and Uganda have also reported cases. Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya said countries are not safe if they don’t take appropriate measures, and called the geographic spread unprecedented because three African regions have been affected for the first time.
It is the world’s second-largest Ebola outbreak ever, after the 2014-2016 epidemic in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000.
The World Health Organization said this week there were 10,141 cases and nearly 5,000 deaths as of Monday, and that progress is being made. More than 2,600 people have recovered, testing and treatment capacity has expanded and clinical trials of candidate vaccines are under way.
This report draws on information from Reuters, Al Jazeera, UN News and Africa CDC.