DR Congo’s worst Ebola epidemic ever passes 7,000 cases

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has expanded to a seventh province, according to South-Ubangi governor Jean-Rene Galekwa. This marks the deadliest outbreak in the country's history, with the virus causing over 15,000 deaths across Africa in the past five decades. Detected recently in mid-May, this is the 17th outbreak since the epidemic began. The current strain, Bundibugyo, has no approved vaccine or treatment.

Originating in northeastern Ituri province, the disease has spread to conflict-ridden and remote eastern and northern regions. The outbreak took a significant step when a patient who had traveled to Rwanda, Uganda, and Ituri province died in South-Ubangi after developing symptoms in the capital of Tshopo province, Kisangani. The patient had spent two days in a health center in Lisala, Mongala province, before being transferred to another hospital in Gwaka, South-Ubangi.

As the virus can be transmitted through contact with bodily fluids, causing severe internal and external bleeding and organ failure, 38 people have been placed in quarantine under suspicion. The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concerns about the insufficient funding to monitor and isolate cases across the vast country. The WHO needs an additional 5,000 health workers to aid in the response and estimates a further 1,600 beds are required beyond the 1,400 already in place at 59 treatment centers.