Photo courtesy of Anadolu
An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the country’s deadliest, with 2,325 fatalities recorded since the epidemic began in May.
Health authorities reported 4,945 confirmed infections, pushing the death toll beyond the 2,299 fatalities recorded during the 2018 to 2020 outbreak.
The current epidemic has spread to six provinces, including Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Bas-Uele and Tshopo.
Ituri remained the main center of transmission, where cases linked to the Bundibugyo strain continued to rise.
The outbreak has also been described as the fastest-growing Ebola epidemic recorded in the country, placing added pressure on health systems in affected areas.
UN humanitarian officials said the pace of deaths had become severe, with one person reportedly dying from the disease roughly every 30 minutes.
Unlike some previous Ebola outbreaks, no approved vaccine or specific treatment is currently available for the Bundibugyo strain, making containment more difficult.
Health authorities continue to rely on early detection, isolation, contact tracing and community monitoring as efforts intensify to slow the spread of the virus.
