3 weeks ago
Congo Ebola deaths surpass 2,000 in fastest-spreading outbreak
Ebola is a very serious sickness that can make people very ill.
More than 2,000 people have died from the latest outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This is the 17th time Ebola has appeared in Congo.
Doctors say this outbreak is spreading faster than any other Ebola outbreak ever recorded.
The sickness is caused by a type of virus called the Bundibugyo strain, and there is no approved vaccine or medicine to stop it yet.
The World Health Organization, which works to keep people healthy, has called it a serious worldwide emergency.
Some people in the neighbouring country of Uganda have also become sick.
Fighting, bad roads, and a lack of medical supplies have made it harder for doctors to stop the spread.
Some health workers have gone on strike because they have not been paid for their work.
One health official said the virus is ahead of the people trying to stop it.
Confirmed Ebola deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo reached 2,011, with 4,381 confirmed cases across five eastern provinces.
Health officials describe the outbreak as the fastest-spreading on record, with deaths jumping from 1,000 to 2,000 in less than a month.
The outbreak, Congo's 17th, is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has no approved vaccines or treatments and a 45.9% case fatality rate.
The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, with cases also reported in neighbouring Uganda.
Response efforts are hampered by rebel conflict, bad roads, medical supply shortages and strikes by health workers over unpaid wages, prompting a government-backed task force including militia fighters in Butembo to protect responders.
- Who
- People in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 2,011 confirmed deaths have been recorded, with some cases also reported in neighbouring Uganda; health officials, aid workers and the World Health Organization are responding.
- What
- Confirmed Ebola deaths surpassed 2,000 (reaching 2,011), with 4,381 confirmed cases across five eastern provinces in the fastest-spreading outbreak on record.
- Where
- Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, centred on Ituri province, near the borders of South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda; a task force was launched in Butembo in North Kivu.
- When
- Data was announced on Tuesday, August 11; the outbreak was declared on May 15, though sequencing suggests it began in February and a study in the journal Science suggested January or earlier.
- Why
- Delayed detection, conflict, bad roads, medical supply shortages, limited care and health worker strikes have allowed the Bundibugyo strain, which has no approved vaccines or treatments, to spread rapidly.
Enforcement and containment measures
Community resistance and workers' grievances
Enforcing quarantine and protecting responders
Enforcement and containment measures
Officials launched a government-backed task force in Butembo pairing pro-government militia fighters with civil society groups to protect Ebola responders; people handling Ebola victims' bodies or refusing quarantine orders could be forcibly taken to treatment centres, with repeated non-compliance risking whipping.
Community resistance and workers' grievances
Community resistance and persistent mistrust, including disputes over burial practices, have complicated containment and at times put response workers at risk; many cases are reported late or not at all, and some early cases were wrongly attributed to malaria and typhoid.
Health worker strikes over unpaid wages
Enforcement and containment measures
Authorities say the strikes are due to logistical challenges in disbursing available funds to pay health workers.
Community resistance and workers' grievances
Many health workers have gone on strike to protest lack of payment for their work since the outbreak was declared, further hampering the response.
Key facts
- Confirmed deaths
- 2,011
- Confirmed cases
- 4,381
- Provinces affected
- Five eastern provinces
- Outbreak designation
- Congo's 17th; second-largest on record
- Virus strain
- Bundibugyo; no approved vaccines or treatments
- Case fatality rate
- 45.9% (vs 39.6% in the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak)
- WHO declaration
- Public health emergency of international concern
- Largest-ever comparison
- 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak: 28,616 cases, 11,310 deaths
Quotes
Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi
WHO regional director for Africa
“"We must not take this disease lightly, because it continues to kill and no one is safe."”
deccanchronicle.com
“"Chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us."”
deccanchronicle.com
Paul Hunter
Professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, UK
“"In the absence of an effective vaccine, control rests on identifying cases and then nursing them in secure facilities until they recover or sadly perish."”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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