DR Congo Ebola Death Toll Surpasses 1,000 as Outbreak Grows
(MENAFN) The death toll from the Democratic Republic of Congo's ongoing Ebola outbreak has crossed the 1,000 mark, health authorities announced Thursday, as new community infections continue to climb.
Since the outbreak was officially declared on May 15, the country has recorded a steady rise in new cases. Health Ministry figures now put the total number of confirmed infections at 2,536, including 1,033 deaths. Currently, 738 patients remain in isolation or hospitalized, while 506 have recovered. The ministry reported that the case fatality rate has risen to 40.7%.
Adding to concerns, the UN migration agency warned last week that transporting the bodies of Ebola victims across the country for burial in their home communities is heightening the risk of further spreading the virus.
The outbreak has now spread across five provinces — Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tshopo — with Ituri remaining the epicenter of the epidemic, driven by sustained transmission of the Bundibugyo virus strain.
“The response remains fully deployed in the affected provinces, with ongoing reinforcement of surveillance, diagnostic, and case management capacities,” the ministry said.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, Adelard Lufongola, who heads the country's Ebola response operations, said that while infection curves in some affected provinces show early signs of decline, it remains too early to say whether the epidemic has peaked.
Prime Minister Judith Suminwa was scheduled to travel Thursday to Kisangani in Tshopo province, followed by visits to Bunia, Mungwalu, and Rwampara in Ituri province, in an effort to strengthen the national response, according to a statement from her office.
The visit is intended to reaffirm the government's leadership in combating the outbreak, tighten coordination among response teams, and give senior decision-makers a firsthand look at conditions on the ground — steps aimed at consolidating prevention, surveillance and care efforts for affected communities, the statement said.
Since the outbreak was officially declared on May 15, the country has recorded a steady rise in new cases. Health Ministry figures now put the total number of confirmed infections at 2,536, including 1,033 deaths. Currently, 738 patients remain in isolation or hospitalized, while 506 have recovered. The ministry reported that the case fatality rate has risen to 40.7%.
Adding to concerns, the UN migration agency warned last week that transporting the bodies of Ebola victims across the country for burial in their home communities is heightening the risk of further spreading the virus.
The outbreak has now spread across five provinces — Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tshopo — with Ituri remaining the epicenter of the epidemic, driven by sustained transmission of the Bundibugyo virus strain.
“The response remains fully deployed in the affected provinces, with ongoing reinforcement of surveillance, diagnostic, and case management capacities,” the ministry said.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, Adelard Lufongola, who heads the country's Ebola response operations, said that while infection curves in some affected provinces show early signs of decline, it remains too early to say whether the epidemic has peaked.
Prime Minister Judith Suminwa was scheduled to travel Thursday to Kisangani in Tshopo province, followed by visits to Bunia, Mungwalu, and Rwampara in Ituri province, in an effort to strengthen the national response, according to a statement from her office.
The visit is intended to reaffirm the government's leadership in combating the outbreak, tighten coordination among response teams, and give senior decision-makers a firsthand look at conditions on the ground — steps aimed at consolidating prevention, surveillance and care efforts for affected communities, the statement said.
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