DRC Ebola virus deaths have topped 5,000, the government said on Saturday. Health officials around Africa are sounding the alarm over the potential for the disease to spread even further. It’s a very tragic milestone, said the World Health Organisation.
How Far the Outbreak Has Spread
An outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reached more than 5,000 deaths. That’s the latest figure from the government, which issued the data on Saturday. On May 15, Congo reported that it had an Ebola outbreak. It was in response to a report of a deadly disease affecting people in Congo’s Ituri province. Two days later, the WHO declared that it was an international public health emergency. The current total of confirmed cases is over 10,000, with a fatality rate of nearly 48.5 per cent, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s the second-deadliest recorded outbreak of Ebola, behind the 2014-16 West African epidemic, which took the lives of approximately 11,000 people.
The outbreak is caused by the species of Ebola virus called Bundibugyo. In Congo, the outbreak has spread to 67 out of 178 health zones in eight of 26 provinces. There are currently active cases in 50 of those health zones. About a third of people who have died didn’t get treatment.
Outside of Congo, the numbers are much lower. Uganda had about 20 cases, and in August the country was declared Ebola-free. There have been nine cases of Ebola reported in Kenya. The cases in Nairobi started on October 6, but so far no community spread has been reported. Nigeria has confirmed one imported case in Abuja on October 20, involving a woman who had come from Uganda. Africa CDC said she was undiagnosed for about ten days before being diagnosed. WHO says Nigeria is the fifth country where the virus has been identified since the outbreak started.
Africa CDC has identified an additional ten countries at risk. That includes countries like Rwanda, Tanzania, Angola, Burundi, South Sudan and Zambia. According to the director-general of the Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, “no one is safe today” when he spoke to CBC News. On Thursday, more than 40 African health ministers agreed to keep borders open but to closely monitor them.
Why Containment Is Struggling
Currently, there isn’t an approved vaccine or treatment for this strain of Ebola virus, Bundibugyo. So the response is to give supportive care early on. But late detection, conflict in the east of the country and stretched health resources are all contributing to a faster spread of the virus than other outbreaks. Scientists believe the virus has been spreading without detection for weeks or months.
There are also issues with money and security as well. A group of workers at an Ebola treatment centre in the town of Tchomia in Ituri province staged a walkout on Friday because they haven’t been paid for four months. Last week, a nurse was killed while responding to an alert. And in September, a politician from a ruling party was killed after he pushed for health measures on the radio. In Beni, one official said the increase in cases in the area was due to a lack of fuel and money coming from the central government. Health officials are concerned that as children return to school, cases will increase.