Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola Deaths Exceed 5,000 Cases
Congo's Ministry of Health records 5,026 deaths out of 10,351 cases of Bundibugyo virus, with a mortality rate of 50%
Translated by Qiyas from السياسة — Original source
- Case fatality rate nears 50%... fears of widening virus spread and difficulty containing it
Data from the Congolese Ministry of Health show 5,026 deaths out of 10,351 confirmed cases, yielding a case fatality rate approaching 50 percent, amid concerns over rising infections and the difficulty of containing the virus.
In mid-May, authorities announced an outbreak of the disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus, posing a challenge to health agencies amid difficulties in controlling the infection.
The current outbreak is the second deadliest Ebola wave in history, following the West Africa epidemic that lasted from 2014 to 2016 and resulted in approximately 11,000 deaths across several countries.
According to the data, 2,788 patients have recovered so far, while health workers continue to provide supportive care tailored to patients’ symptoms, given the absence of a known vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo virus.
Since May, the outbreak has spread to 67 of the country’s 178 health zones, distributed across 8 of the 26 provinces, with 50 affected health zones still reporting active cases.
The outbreak is concentrated in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, which together recorded 9,782 confirmed cases and 4,792 deaths, making them the main epicenters of the virus.
Health authorities continue to face difficulties in contact tracing and testing, which are essential measures to curb transmission and contain the outbreak.
