Ebola Kills 2,325 in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Reaches Deadliest Outbreak in History

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed 2,325 people and the confirmed number of infected people has risen to 4,945, according to the DRC’s public health institute data cited by Reuters.

“confirmed cases had risen to 4,945, including 101 new cases detected in the previous 24 hours”

WTVB

The outbreak, the DRC’s 17th, was declared on May 15 and is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus, which has no approved vaccines or treatments.

ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that "It is already the second-biggest Ebola epidemic on record, and it is moving faster than any previous Ebola outbreak," as the outbreak overwhelmed the health system in the DRC’s north-east.

The BBC reported that the outbreak is now the deadliest in the country’s history, with 2,325 deaths since it was declared on 15 May, surpassing the death toll from the country’s 2018-2020 outbreak.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher warned that the epidemic was "killing someone every 30 minutes" as the virus spread to six of 26 provinces, according to the BBC.

The BBC said the outbreak has spread to six of 26 provinces and described the pace of transmission in the DRC as "exceptional" by the World Health Organization.

Thomas Parisch, a public health specialist deployed to the DRC with Médecins Sans Frontières, said, "Instead, we're still seeing many cases detected very late, when treatment is less likely to succeed, with many identified only after they die in the community," as case fatality remained high.

Al Jazeera

The Al Jazeera report said the case fatality ratio rose from about 20 percent in early June to 46 percent, according to government data, meaning nearly one in every two confirmed cases is now deadly.

Al Jazeera also quoted Tom Fletcher saying, "We need speed, scale, and solidarity before this virus gets even further ahead of us," while noting that the outbreak is the fastest growing on record.

The ABC News & Headlines report said health authorities were "playing catch-up" unless they could drastically scale up testing, contact tracing and isolation efforts, with the death toll almost certain to eclipse the West Africa epidemic.

The BBC reported that there is currently no approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo species but said the UK’s medicines regulator, the MHRA, has given permission for the first human trials of a vaccine for Bundibugyo to go ahead.

“the MHRA, has given permission for the first human trials of a vaccine for Bundibugyo to go ahead”

BBC

The BBC said the jab is being created by a team from the University of Oxford based on the same technology used in the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, and it added that the WHO is sponsoring a separate clinical trial in the DRC to see whether two existing antiviral therapies can improve survival rates.

The ABC News & Headlines report said fears the virus could spread well beyond the region’s borders, with the majority of new infections outpacing contact tracers and cases already detected in neighbouring Uganda.

Al Jazeera reported that the outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus, which has no approved vaccines or treatments, and it said the outbreak has gained momentum since it was declared on May 15 amid weak health infrastructure, remoteness, and ongoing conflict near the DRC’s borders with South Sudan, Uganda, and Rwanda.

The Guardian said the outbreak has no approved vaccines or treatments for the rare Bundibugyo strain responsible for the current surge, while quoting Thomas Parisch that the case fatality ratio should fall as contact tracing improves but instead many cases are detected very late.