Ebola outbreak in DR Congo becomes deadliest in country’s history
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has killed 2,325 people, surpassing the death toll from the 2018-2020 outbreak to become the deadliest in the country’s history. The confirmed number of people infected with the virus has risen to 4,945, including 101 new cases detected in the previous 24 hours, the […]
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has claimed 2,325 lives, surpassing the toll from the 2018-2020 outbreak and marking the deadliest in the country's history. Confirmed cases now total 4,945, with 101 new infections reported in the past 24 hours, according to the DRC's National Public Health Institute.
United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher described the outbreak as the fastest-growing on record, emphasizing the urgent need for speed, scale, and solidarity to prevent it from spiraling further. This marks the DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak, surpassing the 2018-2020 epidemic in case numbers. Ebola is now the deadliest disease in the DRC's history.
Tom Fletcher, the UN humanitarian chief, stated, "Ebola is winning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We cannot let the virus outrun our response." The World Health Organization's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the current pace of the outbreak could match the 2014-2016 West African Ebola crisis, which claimed over 11,000 lives and spurred vaccine development efforts.
The Bundibugyo species of the Ebola virus, which causes this outbreak, lacks approved vaccines or treatments. The outbreak has surged since its declaration on May 15 due to weak health infrastructure, remote areas, and ongoing conflicts near DRC's borders with South Sudan, Uganda, and Rwanda. The case fatality ratio, the proportion of deaths among confirmed cases, has risen from around 20% in early June to 46%, indicating that nearly half of all confirmed cases are now fatal.
Public health experts have noted that as outbreaks progress, contact tracing and early treatment typically lower the case fatality ratio, but this outbreak has seen many cases detected late in their course, making treatment less effective. While experimental vaccines and therapies are being evaluated, global health authorities are assessing the potential protective effects of existing Ebola treatments through limited animal studies.
Written by urgent.news from People Daily Kenya's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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