Ebola death toll in DR Congo passes 5,000, deadliest on record
More than 10,000 people infected and 5,000 dead in DR Congo's worst Ebola outbreak, with cases now reported in Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda.
Butembo — The death toll from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has passed 5,000, government data show, making it the country's deadliest outbreak of the virus on record. The latest figure was announced on Friday, Al Jazeera reported.
More than 10,000 people have been infected since the outbreak was declared in May, and authorities have yet to find a way to bring it under control. There are no approved treatments or vaccines for the rare Bundibugyo strain responsible.
Delayed detection, conflict and strained health services have allowed the virus to spread faster than in past outbreaks, reaching eight of the DRC's 26 provinces. It has also crossed borders. Last week Nigeria became the fourth African country to report a case, extending the outbreak into West Africa; Kenya and Uganda have also confirmed infections.
Governments are responding with restrictions. On Friday, Saudi Arabia suspended travel to and entry from Kenya, the Saudi Press Agency said, halting visas for travellers from the country and barring entry to anyone who has been in Kenya or other affected countries within the previous 21 days. In June the kingdom imposed similar measures on the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan.
The outbreak is the second-largest ever recorded, behind only the 2014-2016 West African epidemic, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000 across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Wide World News reported earlier that confirmed cases had passed 10,000 as fears of wider spread grew.
For families in North Kivu and beyond, the wait is for what does not yet exist: a vaccine or treatment that works against this strain, and a response quick enough to reach the sick before the virus does.
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