Ebola kills 1,700 in eastern Congo as the fastest-growing outbreak surges

Ebola has killed over 1,700 people in eastern Congo in what is now the fastest-growing outbreak of the disease. According to the latest government update, as of Tuesday, there have been 3,802 recorded cases and 1,707 deaths. The outbreak, declared on May 15, has been linked to the Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.

The Africa CDC Director-General, Jean Kaseya, has cautioned that nearly 80% of new cases are not coming from contact tracing but instead from community spread. He made this statement during his second visit to the town of Bunia near the outbreak's epicenter on Tuesday. The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is expected to visit Bunia later this week.

The outbreak has been hampered by delays in contact tracing, difficulties accessing affected areas, mistrust from communities, and violence by armed groups and some residents, according to the Africa CDC. Two clinical trials for post-exposure prophylaxis drugs are ongoing in Ituri province. The World Health Organization reported at least 3,553 confirmed cases and 1,558 deaths as of Friday, although this figure was not dated.

Brief written by urgent.news from STAT News, Phys.org, MedPage Today, Egypt Independent, Associated Press — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.