According to the latest report released by the Congolese Ministry of Communication, with data collected until Thursday, the number of Ebola-related deaths has risen to 1,887. This figure represents an increase of 37 confirmed deaths compared to what was announced on Friday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The Congolese Government also reported that the number of infected individuals has grown, reaching 4,120 people, an increase from the 4,053 recorded on Friday. The fatality rate, calculated as the proportion of deaths relative to the total number of sick people, rose to 45.8%, slightly up from the 45.7% previously reported by the Government.
The Congolese Ministry of Communication detailed that 721 patients are in isolation or hospitalized, while 810 people have recovered from the disease. Furthermore, the contact tracing rate was registered at 83.7%.
So far, five Congolese provinces have been affected by the Ebola epidemic: Ituri, which is the epicenter of the outbreak; North Kivu, South Kivu, and Haut-Uele, located in the east, in addition to Tshopo, situated in the north-central region, according to the Government.
The Congolese ministry specified that the epidemic remains concentrated in 53 health units distributed across these five provinces, with Ituri being responsible for 86.5% of the accumulated cases.
On Friday, the current epidemic was classified as the second largest outbreak in recorded history and the largest in terms of infections in the DRC. This scenario surpasses the outbreak that occurred in the eastern part of the country between 2018 and 2020, which resulted in 2,299 deaths and 3,481 cases, as reported by the Spanish agency Efe.
According to the same source, this mark represents the seventeenth epidemic to affect the DRC and has the fastest documented growth rate of infections, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Although the current epidemic was declared on May 15th in Ituri (a border province with South Sudan and Uganda), it still does not compare to the worst in history, which occurred in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, causing approximately 11,000 deaths and 28,000 infections, according to Efe.
The epidemic in question is associated with the Bundibugyo strain, whose fatality rate fluctuates between 30% and 50%. The World Health Organization clarifies that there is no authorized vaccine or specific treatment for this strain.
The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with body fluids of infected humans or animals and can cause severe hemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding.
