The epidemiological situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo is rapidly deteriorating: the number of confirmed deaths from Ebola has reached 2,011, reports infohub.kz.
According to Reuters, the total number of cases in five provinces of the country has reached 4,381 to date.
Health officials stress that this is the fastest-spreading outbreak of the virus in recorded history. For comparison, during the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa, according to the World Health Organization, 28,616 cases and 11,310 deaths were registered in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. However, it took nearly five months for the death toll to reach one thousand, whereas the current outbreak in Congo has led to 2,000 deaths in less than three months.
During the previous outbreak in Congo in 2018-2020, it took just over 12 months for the death toll to reach 2,000. In the current outbreak, the number of deaths has jumped to 2,000 in less than a month.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that a ship bound for the capital Kinshasa, with a population of 17 million, was blocked in the DRC. The measures were taken after one of the passengers died from Ebola symptoms.
The outbreak in Congo began on May 15. The cause was the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no vaccine or specialized treatment yet. Drugs are only being developed, with release timelines estimated at least six months away.
It should be recalled that Ebola is not transmitted through the air. Infection occurs only through direct contact with the biological fluids of an infected person.