More than 2,000 people have died in the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), making it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record, according to the latest government data.
The figures show that 4,381 confirmed cases have been recorded, including 2,011 deaths.
The outbreak was officially declared on May 15, but health authorities say genetic sequencing indicates that the virus began circulating months earlier, in February.
It took about nine weeks for the outbreak to claim its first 1,000 lives. However, the death toll doubled in just about three weeks, raising concerns that the virus is spreading faster than health authorities can contain it.
The outbreak is concentrated in Ituri province in eastern Congo and has spread across five eastern provinces near South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda.
High death rate
The outbreak is now the second-largest Ebola outbreak in history, behind the 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak, which recorded more than 28,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths.
However, the current outbreak has a higher case fatality rate of 45.9%, compared with 39.6% during the West African outbreak.
The outbreak is being caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare strain of Ebola for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments. Clinical trials for potential vaccines and treatments have begun in Ituri.
Health experts say delayed diagnosis and limited access to treatment are contributing to the high number of deaths.
Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, said early identification of cases is critical because, in the absence of an effective vaccine, controlling the outbreak depends largely on quickly identifying infected people and treating them in isolation.
However, ongoing conflict, poor roads, disrupted communications and population movements are making surveillance difficult.
Conflict and misinformation hamper response
The World Health Organization (WHO) said some cases earlier in the outbreak were initially diagnosed as malaria or typhoid. In addition, early testing focused on a more common strain of Ebola, delaying recognition of the outbreak.
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, said health authorities were effectively trying to catch up with a virus that was moving faster than the response.
Authorities have imposed restrictions on public gatherings and closed the main airport in Ituri to limit transmission.
Despite the measures, movements linked to trade, mining and displacement caused by conflict continue to complicate efforts to contain the disease.
Health workers are also facing resistance and misinformation in some communities, where years of violence by rebel groups have contributed to mistrust of outsiders.
Dr Jean-Marie Akandabo, who is involved in treating patients in Ituri, described the latest death toll as alarming and identified limited healthcare and poor community engagement as major challenges.
The latest outbreak is the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in the DRC and the largest in the country’s history. The Ebola virus was first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the DRC.
SOURCE: CNN