The Ebola epidemic has claimed more than 300 lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a little over one month after it was declared, health authorities said on Friday.
The deadly viral disease, which spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids, can cause severe bleeding and organ failure.
A total of 304 people in the DRC have now died of the virus, from 1,115 confirmed infections since the outbreak was detected on May 15, giving a mortality rate of 26.3 per cent, the National Public Health Institute said.
This is a jump from the 202 deaths confirmed on June 18 by the African Union’s health agency, from 875 confirmed infections — a mortality rate of 23 per cent.
The Red Cross warned last week that the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever has yet to peak and could take up to a year to contain.
In some rare good news, the DRC authorities announced in early June that several Ebola patients had been treated and cured.
Responders to the epidemic, the 17th to hit the vast, unstable central African country, face towering challenges. No approved vaccines or treatments exist for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus responsible for the latest outbreak, which is one of the world’s poorest countries.
The three affected provinces in eastern DRC — Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu — have been plagued for three decades by conflict and mass displacement, complicating the response.
The outbreak has spread to neighbouring Uganda, where containment measures have been effective. Kampala has reported 20 confirmed cases nationwide, including two deaths since May 15. Most of those infected are Congolese nationals who have travelled to Uganda.
On Wednesday, France reported the outbreak’s first confirmed case of Ebola outside Africa — a Congolese doctor who was working in the DRC for an international medical aid NGO. The World Health Organization says there is minimal risk of the virus spreading in Europe and there is no need for travel restrictions.
The vast majority of cases in the DRC have been detected in Ituri, where more than 91 per cent of all infections have been registered in the provincial capital, Bunia, and more than 82 per cent of all deaths. Efforts to contain the virus have been ratcheted up in Ituri, but healthcare facilities still lack basic equipment and supplies.
At least 78 healthcare workers have been infected with the virus, and 18 have died, the country’s public health agency said. Medical and aid workers also have to contend with deep mistrust from some local communities, with some families demanding that hospitals hand over bodies of the deceased, not realising that touching the body puts them at risk of contamination.
