More than 1,000 deaths have been reported due to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda, according to the WHO
The 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC was declared on May 15 following several deaths in Ituri, and has remained concentrated in this mineral-rich northeastern province, which has been ravaged by armed groups.
The coffin of an Ebola victim is loaded onto a pickup truck in the DRC (File photo)
The Ebola outbreak declared in May has caused the deaths of more than 1,000 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, the World Health Organization reported Wednesday.
In total, 2,473 cases of the deadly virus have been confirmed in the DRC, including 999 deaths, while in neighboring Uganda, 20 cases have been reported, including two deaths, according to a general report by the WHO based on official data from both countries.
The 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC was declared on May 15 following several deaths in Ituri, and has remained concentrated in this mineral-rich northeastern province, which has been ravaged by armed groups.
Cases of Ebola, which spreads through close contact and infected bodily fluids, have also been detected in four other provinces of the DRC.
The cases identified in Uganda were mostly Congolese citizens who crossed the border, and the country says it has not recorded any new cases in three weeks.
"It has spread faster than any previous outbreak"
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned last week that the outbreak, over the past month, "has spread faster than any previous Ebola outbreak."
Despite the intensified response, "the outbreak is still ahead of us, and we are still in the process of catching up," Thierno Balde, the WHO official in charge of managing the Bundibugyo virus in the DRC, told reporters on Tuesday.
There is no approved vaccine or treatment
However, the WHO has noted "encouraging progress," with ongoing trials of two potential treatments, a vaccine, and post-exposure prophylaxis in the field.
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