Algerian Radio
More than 3,500 Ebola cases have been recorded in just a few months in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), surpassing the figures from the country’s deadliest outbreak in history between 2018 and 2020, according to data published Friday by Congolese authorities.
The DRC is facing an Ebola outbreak in several eastern wilayas, a region that has been plagued by conflict for more than 30 years.
Ebola, which is transmitted through contact with body fluids and causes hemorrhagic fever, has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the last 50 years. The deadliest outbreak in the DRC resulted in nearly 2,300 deaths out of 3,500 identified cases between 2018 and 2020.
As of Friday, 3,532 Ebola cases had been confirmed across five wilayas of the country, including 1,556 deaths, according to data published by the DRC authorities.
The threshold of 2,000 confirmed cases was crossed on July 15, just two months after the outbreak was officially declared on May 15.
This 17th outbreak in the DRC is caused by the Bundibugyo variant, for which there is currently no vaccine or treatment available.
A vaccine described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "the most promising" against the outbreak raging in the DRC will be developed by the Singapore-based Hilleman Laboratories, the group announced Thursday.
Last week, a first volunteer received the initial dose of another vaccine against the Bundibugyo variant, developed by Oxford University (UK), which utilizes the same technology as the COVID-19 vaccine.
The epicenter of the Ebola outbreak—the true extent of which remains difficult to measure and which could last for several months—is located in Ituri, a wilaya in northeastern Congo bordering South Sudan and Uganda, which accounts for nearly 90% of cases, according to the WHO.
The virus is also present in four other wilayas, including North Kivu and South Kivu, where the capitals and large areas of territory are controlled by the M23 armed group.
The Ugandan Ministry of Health declared the end of the Ebola outbreak in its country on Tuesday, but the WHO warns that the risk there persists.
