An Ebola outbreak declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in early September has claimed 42 lives out of 64 confirmed cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed the figures in a post on X, adding that the UN agency and its partners are supporting the government-led response.
While the risk of further spread is high within the DRC, the WHO assesses the regional threat as moderate.
Health authorities launched a vaccination campaign two weeks ago in the central province of Kasai, following the resurgence of the virus. The outbreak is driven by factors such as insufficient protective equipment, incomplete contact tracing, delayed case detection, and unsafe burial practices. High population mobility and reliance on traditional healers are also contributing to the risk.
The current outbreak involves the Zaire strain of Ebola, for which a vaccine exists. The International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision has approved the shipment of 45,000 additional vaccine doses to the DRC.
Ebola, first identified in 1976 and believed to have originated from bats, is a highly contagious hemorrhagic fever transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids. The disease causes severe bleeding, organ failure, and has a fatality rate ranging from 25% to 90%. The mortality rate in the current outbreak is estimated at 45.7%.
The deadliest Ebola outbreak in DRC’s history occurred between 2018 and 2020, killing nearly 2,300 people.
AFP
