Confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have exceeded 11,000. Government data show a total of 11,042 infected people and 5,387 deaths since the outbreak was declared in mid-May.
The outbreak was caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. It is now considered the second-largest and deadliest outbreak in the history of the disease, after the outbreak in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, when more than 28,600 people were infected and over 11,000 died.
The outbreak spread to eight provinces
Eight of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s 26 provinces have been affected. The highest number of cases has been reported in Ituri and North Kivu, but the virus has also been detected in provinces far from the initial epicentre.
According to data cited by Reuters, many of the deaths occurred outside treatment centres. Delayed detection of the disease, armed conflict and overstretched health services are among the factors accelerating the spread and making contact tracing more difficult.
There are no approved specific vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain. Health teams rely on early detection, isolation, monitoring of contacts, symptom-based medical care and the safe burial of the deceased.
Conflict hampers the work of health teams
The situation is being complicated by insecurity in the eastern parts of the country. Attacks and population movements are making it difficult to access healthcare facilities and limiting the ability to monitor people who have been in contact with infected individuals.
“The government must fully assume its responsibility to ensure the effectiveness of the response to Ebola,” Samuel Budju, a resident of Bunia, one of the areas affected by the outbreak, told The Associated Press.
The World Health Organization and African health institutions continue to support local authorities in controlling the outbreak. The main tasks remain detecting new cases, breaking chains of transmission and limiting the spread to other countries.
The outbreak has now also been recorded outside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, increasing the importance of border controls and information-sharing among health authorities in the region.
Sources: ca.marketscreener.com, apnews.com