Confirmed Ebola cases in DR Congo cross 1,000 as new infections recorded

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s total confirmed Ebola virus cases surged beyond 1,000 Sunday as new infections were recorded, said health authorities.

Confirmed cases of the disease have climbed to 1,003, including 254 deaths, since the outbreak was declared on May 15, with a mortality rate of 25.3%, the Health Ministry update showed.

“Despite this progression, response teams continue active investigations, epidemiological surveillance and prevention actions in affected areas,” the ministry said.

Health Minister Roger Kamba said response efforts to the virus continue in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, with an improvement in the number of recoveries but a decrease in the contact follow-up rate.

At least 100 recoveries have been recorded while 365 patients remain in isolation or hospital.

Last week, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) warned that the current 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.

But Kamba said community communication efforts, diagnosis and case management continue to be intensified to curb the spread of the epidemic.

Scientists from the Ugandan Health Ministry’s Department of National Health Laboratory and Diagnostic Services and Congo’s Institute of National Biomedical Research said last week that 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.