Health authorities warn that sustained virus transmission, insecurity and population movement are complicating efforts to econtain the epidemic….reports Africa Daily News Desk
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recorded more than 3,200 confirmed Ebola cases, with the death toll rising to 1,405, as health authorities warned that the outbreak remains in a phase of sustained transmission.
According to the latest situation report released late on Sunday, the country had confirmed 3,200 Ebola infections as of Saturday. The outbreak has resulted in 1,405 deaths, while 571 patients have recovered.
The report said 773 patients remained in isolation, with 125 new confirmed infections and 51 confirmed deaths reported during the previous 24 hours.
Ituri Province continues to be the epicentre of the outbreak, accounting for 89 per cent of all confirmed cases, according to the report cited by Xinhua News Agency.
Health authorities said the epidemic is being fuelled by population movements, insecurity, artisanal mining activities and cross-border travel with neighbouring Uganda and South Sudan.
Officials said efforts would continue to strengthen disease surveillance, expand response measures and prevent further spread of the virus.
The report described the outbreak as remaining in a phase of sustained transmission, with a high level of virus circulation across affected areas.
The growing number of patients has also placed pressure on treatment facilities. In North Kivu Province, 171 patients were being treated despite available capacity for 141 beds, resulting in an occupancy rate of 121.3 per cent. Nationwide, Ebola treatment bed occupancy stood at 82.1 per cent.
The current outbreak was officially declared on May 15 and is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus. Since then, it has spread from the northeastern province of Ituri to five provinces.
Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka warned on Friday that the Ebola outbreak could further deepen the humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC.
Speaking in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province and the centre of the outbreak, Suminwa said the government had allocated 50 million US dollars for the response, in addition to funding provided by international partners.
She also said researchers were working to develop both a treatment and a vaccine against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, the strain responsible for the current outbreak.
There is currently no approved vaccine or specifically licensed treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, although several experimental vaccines and therapies are undergoing clinical evaluation.
In a significant development, the University of Oxford announced on Friday that the first volunteer had received a vaccine in the world’s first human clinical trial of ChAdOx1 BDBV, an experimental vaccine designed to protect against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
