A record toll for Congo
More than 5,000 people have died in the Ebola outbreak now under way in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to government data cited by the BBC. Confirmed cases exceed 10,300, and eight of the country's 26 provinces have been affected. The current case fatality rate is 48.6%.
Public health officials said the outbreak began in May and became the deadliest in the country's history in August. According to the United Nations, it is the 17th outbreak in Congo and the second largest ever recorded anywhere.
The health ministry said in its latest update that the epicentre remains Ituri province in the north-east. The region is a conflict zone, which makes containing the virus harder.
How it compares with earlier outbreaks
Congo's previous worst outbreak, between 2018 and 2020, caused 2,299 recorded deaths, the UN said. The present toll is already far beyond that figure.
The largest Ebola epidemic on record struck West Africa between 2014 and 2016. The World Health Organization (WHO) said it killed more than 11,325 people and spread across several countries, including Italy, the UK and the United States.
The UN has warned that the current outbreak is "taking lives at a much faster rate" than earlier ones.
A strain without a licensed countermeasure
The Bundibugyo species is responsible for this outbreak, and there is not yet a treatment or vaccine for it. Testing and care are being provided, and clinical trials of vaccines are under way, the WHO's Africa office said.
The agency said ending the outbreak requires a "continued scale-up of key control measures, greater access to affected areas, and community outreach."
Ebola is a rare and deadly viral disease with a sudden onset. As it advances, patients develop vomiting and diarrhoea, and organ failure can follow. Some, though not all, experience internal and external bleeding. It passes between people through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit.
Violence against responders
Health workers have faced hostility while trying to contain the spread. Earlier this week a nurse was killed and another health worker was seriously hurt during a response to an Ebola alert. UN-backed Radio Okapi reported that local youths had accused the pair of contaminating water sources and spreading the virus.
Last month, a politician who had promoted measures to limit transmission died after being beaten. In August, the Red Cross reported 11 violent incidents during the first 100 days of the outbreak, in which volunteers were injured and an ambulance was burned.
Spread beyond Congo
In Uganda, 20 cases and two deaths were recorded soon after the outbreak began, but no new cases have been reported since August. Travel restrictions remain for people entering from Congo.
Kenya has confirmed nine cases and two deaths. Nigeria's disease control centre said two suspected cases were identified on Saturday; both people have been isolated and are being tested. Earlier in October, a woman in Nigeria was confirmed to have Ebola and was flown to Switzerland for further treatment.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said the likelihood of infection for people in Europe is "very low."
