Ebola outbreak tops 7,200 cases
Ebola infections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) have topped 7,200, with nearly half of confirmed patients dying since the latest outbreak began, the country’s health authorities said on Monday.
The outbreak has claimed 3,475 lives, putting the overall case fatality rate at 48.3%. A total of 1,712 patients have recovered, while 923 remain in isolation or hospital care. Health officials said 88% of identified contacts are currently being monitored.
The virus has now been detected in 62 health zones across seven provinces. Ituri remains the main hotspot, followed by North Kivu. Sud-Ubangi is among the areas more recently affected.
The outbreak, which was declared in May, is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola and has become the largest recorded in DR Congo’s history, surpassing the country’s 2018-2020 epidemic. There are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments for the Bundibugyo strain.
Despite the rising cumulative toll, Congolese Health Minister Roger Kamba said on Monday that transmission of the Bundibugyo strain is showing signs of slowing. Daily infections have fallen from around 120 at the peak of the outbreak in mid-August to about 80, he said. No new infections have been detected for at least 22 days in ten of the 62 health zones affected by the outbreak, including six that have gone more than 42 days without a new infection.
“These figures represent a positive signal. They show that the efforts deployed on the ground are producing results and that our response strategy is beginning to bend the transmission curve,” Kamba said.
Africa CDC chief Jean Kaseya told the New York Times that the agency has expanded its broader Ebola response plan from $518 million to $1.4 billion. In June, Kaseya said, however, that only 13% of roughly $910 million pledged by donors had actually been released, warning that the outbreak could not be stopped without sufficient funding and measures to address the humanitarian situation. Meanwhile, African countries had pledged $120 million toward the response, of which $90 million had already been disbursed.
Russia has stepped up support for regional Ebola preparedness, training Ugandan health specialists in infection control and previously supplying diagnostic test kits to DR Congo and neighboring countries.
