DR Congo: Ebola death toll reaches 5,372 as fatality rate exceeds 50 per cent
The Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, has now infected more than 10,000 people.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed 5,372 lives, according to the latest report from the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB), published on Sunday. The case fatality rate now stands at 51.6 per cent.
As of 30 October, 10,414 cases had been confirmed. The INRB said the sharp rise in recorded deaths reflected a retrospective reconciliation of data between a local processing team and the Ituri province outbreak management team, rather than a surge in fatalities on a single day.
The outbreak, declared in mid-May, involves the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment. Health workers are treating patients according to their symptoms.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has reported that about 80 per cent of new cases are emerging outside known chains of transmission, complicating efforts to contain the disease. Cases have also been recorded in Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria, raising fears of wider spread across the continent.