Death toll from Ebola surpasses 200 in DR Congo as officials assess response

The death toll from the Ebola virus surpassed the 200 mark Thursday as infections surged in the outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said in an update.

Confirmed cases of the disease have climbed to 875, including 202 deaths since the outbreak was declared on May 15, with a mortality rate of 23%, Africa CDC data showed.

The virus is spreading across the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, with Ituri accounting for nearly 95% of the cases.

Meanwhile, 19 cases, including two deaths, have been confirmed in neighboring Uganda.

Testing capacity and digital surveillance have been scaled up to close the detection gap, said Africa CDC.

Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya has warned that the outbreak could be worse than what was witnessed in the 2014-2016 West African epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone if transmission is not brought under control very soon.

Congolese Health Minister Roger Kamba visited Ituri’s provincial capital of Bunia on Thursday to assess the progress of the response, difficulties encountered, and new strategies to accelerate the control of the disease.

Donors and partners have pledged $910 million to support the Ebola response in the Congo and Uganda, according to Africa CDC.

The pledges were made during a recent meeting of African leaders and partners dedicated to the current disease outbreak.

In a statement, the health body said the amount includes $80 million from African Union member states toward a $100 million target.

It called on financial institutions, donors and partners to convert pledges into rapidly disbursable resources and priority in-kind support, including vehicles, ambulances, laboratories and treatment and isolation capacity as well as personal protective equipment.

An estimated $518 million has been earmarked in a Africa CDC and World Health Organization June-November joint continental response and preparedness plan launched earlier this month.

The Congo and Uganda allocated initial financing of $50 million and $5 million, respectively in their national response plans.

Scientists from the Ugandan Health Ministry’s Department of National Health Laboratory and Diagnostic Services and the Congo’s Institute of National Biomedical Research said the current strain, Ebola Bundibugyo, came from a new wildlife spillover, ruling out the possibility that it could be connected to an old outbreak that lay hidden or continued to spread undetected.