The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is now the deadliest in the country's history
For this vast African country of more than 100 million people—one of the poorest in the world—this 17th epidemic in its history has overwhelmed its response capacity as cases have surged.
The coffin of an Ebola victim is loaded onto a truck in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (File photo)
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the deadliest in the country's history, with more than 2,300 deaths recorded, according to the latest figures released by authorities on Monday and reported by AFP.
The current outbreak has left 2,325 dead and 4,945 confirmed cases and exceeds the death toll from the 2018–2020 epidemic in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, which left 2,299 dead and 3,381 confirmed cases, according to data from the African country.
On May 15, several weeks late, the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared an outbreak in the northern and eastern regions, where the state's presence is weak and health infrastructure is precarious.
The epidemic "is the fastest-spreading ever recorded"
For this vast African country of more than 100 million people—one of the poorest in the world—this 17th epidemic in its history has overwhelmed its capacity to respond to the surge in cases, the agency explained.
The epidemic "is the fastest-spreading ever recorded" and "kills one person every 30 minutes," warned UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher last week.
At this time, there is no vaccine or specific treatment available for the Bundibugyo variant that has caused this outbreak.
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