Death toll hits 1,707 as Ebola cases rise in eastern Congo

Ebola has killed more than 1,700 people in eastern Congo in the fastest-growing outbreak of the disease, data showed. As of Tuesday, 3,802 cases had been recorded, with 1,707 deaths, according to the latest government update.

It is not clear when the outbreak will reach its peak, Africa CDC Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya said during his second visit to the town of Bunia near the outbreak’s epicentre on Tuesday. Kaseya cautioned that nearly 80 per cent of new cases are not coming from contact tracing but instead from community spread. The outbreak, declared on May 15, has been linked to the Bundibugyo virus for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments. Delays in contact tracing, difficulties accessing affected areas, mistrust from communities, and violence by armed groups and some residents have hampered the response, the Africa CDC has said.

The outbreak is mostly concentrated in eastern Congo’s remote Ituri province, which accounts for nearly 90 per cent of cases, but cases have also been confirmed in five other provinces, including in one of the country’s largest cities, Kisangani.

Neighbouring Uganda declared itself free of Ebola following the discharge of the country’s last patient in mid-June. On Monday, healthcare workers in the hard-hit town of Mongbwalu issued an ultimatum over unpaid wages, saying that “if nothing is done within 24 hours, we will escalate our action.”