Ebola death toll in DR Congo passes 5,000 in the country's deadliest outbreak on record
More than 5,000 people have now died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, government data released on Friday show. Over 10,000 have been infected since the outbreak was declared in May, making it the country's deadliest on record and the second-largest Ebola epidemic ever. There is no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain behind it.
Delayed detection, armed conflict and overstretched health services have helped the virus spread faster than in past outbreaks. It has reached eight of the country's 26 provinces and crossed borders: Uganda and Kenya have reported cases, and last week Nigeria became the fourth African country to confirm one, taking the outbreak to West Africa. Only the 2014–2016 West African epidemic, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed over 11,000 in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, was larger.
Because the approved Ebola vaccine was developed for a different strain, health authorities are testing whether it offers any protection against Bundibugyo, but for now care is limited to isolation, contact tracing and supportive treatment. Several governments have restricted travel. On Friday Saudi Arabia suspended travel to and from Kenya, stopped issuing visas to travellers from the country and barred entry to anyone who has been in Kenya or another affected country in the previous 21 days, according to the Saudi Press Agency. It had already imposed similar measures on the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan in June.