DR Congo Ebola outbreak: 4,566 confirmed cases, including 2,128 deaths

Over the past 24 hours, 118 new confirmed cases and 67 deaths (50 community deaths and 17 deaths within Ebola Treatment Centres) from Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) have been reported in the provinces of Ituri (98 cases), North Kivu (18 cases), and Haut-Uélé (2 cases), according to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ministry of Health.

This represents the highest daily number of confirmed cases since the start of the epidemic, with Ituri’s incidence doubling in twenty-four hours.

To date, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has recorded a total of 4,566 confirmed cases, including 2,128 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 46.6%.

Ituri remains the epicenter of the epidemic, accounting for 85.7% of cumulative confirmed cases and 83.1% of new cases reported in the last 24 hours.

Thirty-two (32) patients were declared recovered after testing negative for EVD twice (29 in Ituri, 2 in North Kivu, and 1 in Tshopo).

Ebola outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread at an ‘alarming and unprecedented rate’

The 17 deaths within Ebola Treatment Centres were recorded in Ituri (10), North Kivu (6), and Haut-Uélé (1).

The epidemic affects 53 of the 140 health zones across the five affected provinces. Ituri has 28 affected health zones out of 36, followed by North Kivu (12/34), Haut-Uélé (6/13), Tshopo (6/23), and South Kivu (1/34).

In addition, it is reported a person has now died from the virus in northern Bas-Uele province after travelling from neighbouring Haut-Uele, Jean Kaseya, the head of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC), told reporters on Thursday.

At a press conference held Wednesday, August 12, in Geneva, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed his concerns about the rapid spread of the virus. He believes the health response started significantly late, after the disease had already had time to spread to several communities.

“The race against the virus started several lengths behind and the epidemic has gained considerable ground,” said the WHO chief, calling for intensified efforts to regain control of the situation.