Ebola outbreak in DR Congo tops 1,000 cases, at least 254 dead

Yesterday officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) confirmed there were now 1,003 cumulative confirmed cases and 254 cumulative deaths in a growing Ebola outbreak in North and South Kivu and Ituri provinces. Neighboring Uganda has 19 cases of the virus, all with links to the DRC, and has not reported any new cases since June 5. 

The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, a strain that has no licensed  vaccines or therapeutics and has only caused three known outbreaks since it was identified in 2007. Contact tracing is one of the few tools available to stop the spread of the virus, but health workers in the DRC have only been able to follow up with 58% of case contacts. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) said last Friday the outbreak’s case fatality rate (CFR) is 26%.

CFRs in two previous Bundibugyo outbreaks, reported in Uganda and the DRC in 2007 and 2012, were 30% and 50%, respectively.

“The reported CFR is likely an underestimation, as many deaths that occurred before the outbreak declaration remain under investigation,” the WHO said. The outbreak was declared on May 15 but is believed to have begun much earlier.

Displacement camp outbreak kills at least 30 

WHO officials also said late last week that at least 30 people at Kigonze displacement camp in Bunia have died from suspected Ebola since May. The camp can hold up to 15,000 people and officials are warning the virus could devastate the camp’s population. Several media outlets reported pregnant women and young children were among the camp’s dead, and that the displacement site was already struggling with overflowing toilets. 

The outbreak … poses an increased risk to the populations living in overcrowded internally displaced camps.

“The outbreak is unfolding in a complex humanitarian and conflict-affected environment, characterized by highly mobile and often displaced populations, often lacking access to basic services, including food, clean water, shelter, healthcare and protection which poses an increased risk to the populations living in overcrowded internally displaced camps,” the WHO said. 

According to the United Nations, 320,000 refugees live in areas at risk of Ebola in the DRC. 

Israel reports second case of Ebola 

Israel is reporting a second individual suspected of contracting Ebola after returning from the DRC. The patient is being tested and treated at Tel Aviv’s Sheba Medical Center. 

The news followed the announcement of another suspected case in a different man last week, who was suspected of contracting Ebola while in the DRC and was sent for testing at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.