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The Democratic Republic of Congo’s latest Ebola outbreak has surpassed the total number of cases recorded during the country’s deadliest epidemic between 2018 and 2020
That epidemic killed nearly 2,300 people among about 3,500 infections
Congolese officials said on Friday that in this year’s outbreak 3,532 Ebola cases, including 1,556 deaths, have now been confirmed across five provinces
Second-Largest Ebola Outbreak on Record
The outbreak has grown into the world’s second-largest Ebola epidemic
“It’s the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic that we have ever seen,” said Carl Skau, acting executive director of the UN World Food Programme told Reuters
“The world needs to pay much more attention,” he added.
The outbreak has proven unusually deadly, killing five times more people in its first three months than previous Ebola outbreaks had by the same stage, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
Only the 2014-16 West Africa outbreak was bigger, with 28,616 cases reported across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Ebolais a severe and often fatal disease that spreads from infected animals and through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people
Experimental vaccines raise hope
The outbreak is being caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no approved vaccine or treatment currently exists
However, vaccine research is gaining momentum — the WHO has described a vaccine being developed by Singapore-based Hilleman Laboratories as the most promising candidate against the outbreak
A separate Bundibugyo vaccine is also under development by the University of Oxford. Last week, the first volunteer received a dose as part of an ongoing clinical trial
In DRC, fighting Ebola means fighting misinformation
Ebola Spreads Amid Conflict and Instability
The outbreak is centred in Ituri province in northeastern DR Congo, near the borders with South Sudan and Uganda
Health officials say the true scale of the epidemic remains unclear
Since the outbreak was declared, cases have risen rapidly. Confirmed infections increased from 2,000 on July 15 to more than 3,500 within weeks
The virus has also spread to four other provinces. These include North Kivu and South Kivu, where large areas are controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group
DR Congo is grappling with ongoing instability in its eastern regions, where conflict involving the M23 rebel group continues despite peace efforts.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
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