Kinshasa: The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has now claimed 2,325 lives, marking it as the deadliest in the country's history. According to the latest government data, confirmed cases have surged to 4,945, including 101 new cases detected over the past 24 hours, as reported by Congo's public health institute.
According to France24.com, this outbreak, Congo's 17th, has now surpassed the death toll from the 2018-2020 outbreak, which previously held the record as the country's worst. The current outbreak, which began on May 15, has escalated rapidly, hitting 2,000 deaths in less than three months, contrasting sharply with the West Africa outbreak of 2014-2016 that reached 1,000 deaths in nearly five months.
The Bundibugyo species of Ebola, responsible for the current outbreak, has no approved vaccines or treatments. This situation is exacerbated by weak health systems, community resistance, and instability, which complicate efforts to identify and respond to cases. The case fatality ratio has increased from about 20% in early June to 46%, indicating persistent challenges in surveillance, case detection, and access to care.
Thomas Parisch, a public health specialist with M©decins Sans Fronti¨res, highlighted that the persistence of late case detection hampers treatment success. Despite efforts to develop experimental vaccines and therapies, the evidence remains limited to animal studies.
Earlier, the outbreak spread to neighboring Uganda, but swift action by authorities there managed to limit the impact, resulting in 20 confirmed cases and two deaths. The outbreak was declared over in Uganda last month.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals, living or deceased, and can cause severe symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and both internal and external bleeding.