Ebola outbreak in DR Congo exceeds 5,000 deaths
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on SABC News
The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has exceeded 5,000 deaths among more than 10,000 infected people, according to government data. Eight provinces are affected by the outbreak linked to the Bundibugyo virus, worsened by delayed detection, conflict and fragile health services, SABCnews.com reports.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has surpassed 5,000 deaths, according to government data cited by SABC News. More than 10,000 people have been infected since the outbreak was declared in May, and it is linked to the Bundibugyo species.
No approved treatment or vaccine targets this rare species of Ebola virus. Eight of the Congo’s 26 provinces are affected, while delayed detection, conflicts and weakened health services are accelerating the spread. Many deaths occur outside treatment centres.
The death toll now exceeds that published on 27 October, which reported 4,887 deaths and more than 10,000 cases in the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo. The Congolese outbreak is described as the second-largest ever recorded, behind the 2014–2016 outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000 patients.
