Ebola Deaths in DR Congo Top 3,000 as WHO Prepares Vaccine Trials
The latest data released by Congolese authorities also shows that more than 6,000 cases have been confirmed, with a fatality rate exceeding 48 percent. The outbreak, which was declared on May 15 in the remote northeastern province of Ituri, has spread to six provinces in areas with weak or nonexistent state control and widespread insecurity.
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus species, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments. “Two new vaccines against the Bundibugyo virus are now in safety trials in the UK and Canada,” said World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
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Millions of students across the Democratic Republic of Congo have returned to school for the new academic year amid major challenges posed by an Ebola outbreak, continuing conflict in the east and a dispute between the government and teachers.
The Ebola epidemic has affected six provinces, prompting authorities to introduce a three-tier system under which schools in high-risk areas will shift to limited remote
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![A doctor treating Ebola patients in the eastern DR Congo has his name written on his back for identification purposes.]()
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the DR Congo’s Ebola crisis is “immense”, with 500 new cases being reported every week while the humanitarian response remains low.
He said estimates show that current resources will last only weeks, not months, as the epidemic spreads faster than the response to contain it. “We know how to contain Ebola, how to interrupt transmission, and
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Understanding of how Ebola is spread has improved since the west African outbreak of 2014-2016 killed caused around 12,000 deaths and caused the Obama administration and other governments to cut all contacts with Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia – leaving local authorities without essential protective supplies for health workers. The current outbreak of a new strain – Bundibugyo – in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has so far not caused border closings. This time, a major obstacle to
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![A doctor treating Ebola patients in the eastern DR Congo has his name written on his back for identification purposes.]()
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is set to receive 70,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine from the UN-backed International Coordinating Group (ICG). 20,000 doses are reserved for a clinical trial and 50,000 for frontline health workers.
The allocation comes as the country battles its deadliest Ebola outbreak on record.
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The Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the country’s deadliest Ebola outbreak, with 2,325 deaths, surpassing the 2,299 recorded during the 2018-2020 outbreak. The current outbreak has recorded 4,945 confirmed cases, with a fatality rate of 46%. 730 patients remain in isolation or hospital, and 1,040 have recovered.
WHO said that the outbreak is “outpacing the
Ebola treatment centre in Bunia, constructed by WHO.
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