Ebola outbreak in Congo surpasses 6,000 cases, 2,911 deaths

Congo’s Ebola outbreak has become the second largest in history, with more than 6,000 cases confirmed and 2,911 killed, as the disease continued to wreak havoc on communities suffering from conflict, displacement and a weak health system, AP reported.

Some 1,360 people have recovered. The recovery rate is “encouraging” according to authorities. However, in eastern Congo, where the virus has spread to nearly 60 health districts and six provinces, the outbreak continues to be hard to contain, many cases are being reported outside supervised treatment zones and care centres.

The World Health Organisation is warning that the epidemic is “out of control” and will surpass the number of fatalities of the 2014-16 epidemic in West Africa, which killed over 11,000 people.

The virus being transmitted is the rarer Bundibugyo strain, which does not yet have an approved vaccine or treatment and to which Congo began vaccinating health and other workers with Ervebo, a different strain of Ebola vaccine, while tests of a Bundibugyo vaccine are underway.

An attack on an Ebola care team that occurred during the burial of one victim in Ituri province last week, the injury of one worker and a lack of security and threats to work at burial sites have delayed response and outreach efforts, with demands for added security from Ebola workers.

“We require security so we can work on the ground and do our job while putting our lives at risk is minimised,” team member Floribert Magene told The Associated Press.