Ebola death toll in the Democratic Republic of the Congo rises to 3,007 fatalities and 6,186 confirmed cases - Sarmad

The National Institute for Public Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced that the number of confirmed Ebola virus cases in the country has risen to 6,186, while the number of deaths attributed to the disease has reached 3,007.

According to the institute’s daily report: “Over the past 24 hours, 86 new infections and 57 deaths were recorded. This brings the total number of cases to 6,186 and the number of deaths to 3,007 since the outbreak began.”

According to estimates by doctors and humanitarian workers whose views were solicited by The Washington Post in the Ituri and North Kivu provinces, official statistics may reflect only a fraction of the true number of infections. Many infected individuals do not reach the epidemiological surveillance systems, and a large number of people die outside medical facilities.

On August 20, the World Health Organization announced that it had sent 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to protect healthcare workers and to conduct clinical trials.

To date, no vaccine or treatment for the new Ebola strain, Bundibugyo, has received official approval. However, laboratory data suggest that the new Ervebo vaccine may provide a certain degree of protection.