An Ebola outbreak has claimed 204 lives out of 867 suspected cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the country’s Ministry of Health.
A previous report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday recorded 177 deaths potentially linked to Ebola out of 750 suspected cases in the DRC.
The outbreak, declared on 15 May, is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which has no vaccine or specific treatment and has a fatality rate of up to 50%. WHO has issued an international health alert.
Ebola causes highly contagious haemorrhagic fever. While vaccines and treatments have been developed for the Zaire strain, responsible for most prior outbreaks, these are ineffective against the Bundibugyo strain.
Few laboratory tests have been conducted so far, as the outbreak is centred in a remote region of the DRC, which is difficult to access and affected by armed groups. The Ministry of Health reports 91 confirmed cases and 10 confirmed deaths.
The presence of insecurity in the region has contributed to the spread of the outbreak, stated Jean Kaseya, head of Africa CDC, the African Union’s public health agency, during a press conference in Kampala, Uganda.
Uganda, which borders the DRC, confirmed three new cases on Saturday, bringing its total to five, including one death.
Ebola has killed over 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years, with a mortality rate ranging from 25% to 90%, according to WHO. The deadliest outbreak in the DRC occurred between 2018 and 2020, resulting in nearly 2,300 deaths out of 3,500 cases.
