The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is escalating at an “exceptional” rate, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Saturday, calling for a strengthened public health response, according to AFP, as noted by Agerpres.
“This outbreak is now the largest Ebola outbreak ever reported in the DRC,” the WHO announced in a bulletin, thereby confirming the data published Friday by Congolese authorities.
The worst Ebola outbreak in the DRC claimed nearly 2,300 lives out of a total of nearly 3,500 recorded cases between 2018 and 2020.
Officially declared on May 15, with a delay of several weeks, the current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo variant of the virus, for which there is currently neither a vaccine nor a treatment. It is affecting regions where the state’s presence is weak and health infrastructure is largely inadequate.
As of July 30, a total of 3,605 confirmed cases, including 1,587 deaths, had been reported in the DRC, representing a case fatality rate of 44%, according to the WHO.
“The outbreak is intensifying, with sustained viral transmission and a continuous increase in the number of reported cases and deaths,” the WHO warned.
Initially confined to the Mongbwalu health zone in Ituri Province, the outbreak has spread over the past two months to five provinces (Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, and Tshopo).
According to the WHO, in the most recent reporting week for which complete data is available, a record number of 567 cases and 296 deaths were recorded, “demonstrating the exceptional rate of virus transmission.”
Infections continue to be reported among healthcare workers as well, with 151 confirmed cases, including 44 deaths.
National authorities in the DRC, in collaboration with the WHO and its partners, continue to implement “large-scale” response measures, but “a substantial increase in the public health response is still needed to get ahead of the epidemic,” the organization emphasized.
“Insecurity, population displacement, resident mobility, and cross-border movements” complicate public health response operations and increase the risk of the outbreak spreading to new regions, the WHO warns.
The Ministry of Health in neighboring Uganda declared on Tuesday that the Ebola outbreak in its country had ended, but the risk of a resurgence of the disease remains, according to the WHO.
A vaccine described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “the most promising” against the Ebola outbreak in the DRC will be developed by Hilleman Laboratories, a Singapore-based company, the pharmaceutical group announced on Thursday.
Last week, the first volunteer received the first dose of another vaccine designed to combat the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, developed by the University of Oxford, which uses the same technology as the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca against COVID-19.
source – AGERPRES
