Ebola: more than 10,200 cases and 5,000 deaths in Africa, Africa CDC says
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Vanguard
The Ebola outbreak remains out of control, with more than 10,200 confirmed cases and over 5,000 deaths recorded on the continent, Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, warned. The Democratic Republic of the Congo alone accounts for more than 10,000 confirmed cases, according to figures presented by Jean Kaseya during a television interview.
The Ebola outbreak affecting several African countries remains out of control, with more than 10,200 confirmed cases and over 5,000 deaths on the continent, Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said on Friday 30 October. He was speaking on Nigerian channel Channels Television after a virtual ministerial meeting held on 28 October with more than 42 ministers and 600 participants, according to Channels Television.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo accounts for more than 10,000 confirmed cases and remains the worst-affected country. Data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control recorded 10,193 confirmed cases and 4,960 deaths in the DRC as of 28 October, while Kenya had reported nine cases and two deaths after an imported infection from the DRC.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo variant of the Ebola virus. Nigeria confirmed its first case in more than ten years on 20 October: a 42-year-old Swiss woman who arrived from Uganda and was treated in Abuja, according to health authorities cited by Channels Television. Jean Kaseya also warned that the main geographical centre of transmission was shifting.
The warning comes after the Africa CDC called for better coordination of the Ebola response on 29 October, and the death of a doctor while treating patients in Beni, announced on 30 October.
