An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has killed 2,325 people, making it the country’s deadliest outbreak of the virus, according to government figures released Monday.
The United Nations said the outbreak is “the fastest-growing on record”, with the virus killing an average of one person every 30 minutes in the DRC.
The deaths were recorded among 4,945 confirmed cases, surpassing the previous deadliest outbreak in the country, which killed 2,299 people from 3,381 confirmed cases between 2018 and 2020.
The deadliest Ebola outbreak on record occurred in West Africa between 2013 and 2016, killing more than 11,300 people, mainly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
The current outbreak began in Ituri, a conflict-affected province in northeastern DRC, and has since spread to five other provinces in the sprawling central African country, which has a population of more than 100 million.
The outbreak was officially declared on May 15, although health officials believe the virus had already been circulating for several weeks. It is the DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that it hoped to bring the spread of the disease under control within three months.
Ebola is transmitted through contact with the bodily fluids of infected people and can cause severe haemorrhagic fever. The virus has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past five decades.
AFP
