The rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, responsible for the ongoing outbreak, has no approved treatments or vaccines, making it difficult for health officials to combat the disease.
The death toll from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has surpassed 5,000, according to government data, with authorities yet to find a way to control the country’s deadliest outbreak of the virus on record.
The latest death toll was announced on Friday, with Ebola having infected more than 10,000 people in the DRC since the outbreak was declared in May. The rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, responsible for the ongoing outbreak, has no approved treatments or vaccines, making it difficult for health officials to combat the disease.
Delayed detection, conflict, and strained health services have helped the virus spread more rapidly than in past outbreaks, reaching eight of the DRC’s 26 provinces to date. The virus has also spread to neighbouring countries, with Nigeria becoming the fourth African country to report an Ebola case, extending the outbreak’s geographic spread to West Africa.
Some governments have been restricting travel to affected countries or quarantining travellers who have recently visited or transited through them. Saudi Arabia, for example, suspended travel to and entry from Kenya on Friday, according to the Saudi Press Agency, and has also prohibited entry to travellers arriving from Kenya, including those transiting through third countries who have stayed in Kenya or other Ebola-affected countries within the previous 21 days.
This year’s Ebola outbreak is the second-largest ever, behind only the 2014-2016 epidemic that infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000 people across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The ongoing outbreak highlights the need for increased international cooperation and support to contain the spread of the disease and develop effective treatments and vaccines.
