Ebola toll passes 2000, cases rise to 4449 in DR Congo

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Scientists say a recent Ebola virus strain is ⁠distinct from previous Bundibugyo ​outbreaks.
Scientists say a recent Ebola virus strain is ⁠distinct from previous Bundibugyo ​outbreaks.

At least 2000 people have died in ⁠Democratic Republic ​of Congo’s Ebola outbreak, the fastest-growing on record, according to the latest data.

Government data published overnight showed the outbreak has 4449 confirmed cases, including 2061 deaths.

Starting from the first confirmed case, the death toll was reached almost three times faster than in the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the worst on record.

The current outbreak was declared on May 15 but health authorities now say sequencing showed it began months earlier, in February.

It took about nine weeks for the outbreak to record the first 1000 deaths, but it’s taken just around three weeks for the figure to double, as experts say the crisis is moving faster than efforts to track and manage it.

A study indicates the Ebola outbreak in the DR Congo concerns a previously unseen variant of ‌the rare Bundibugyo species of the virus, indicating it stemmed from ‌a new transmission from animals to humans rather than from variants ‌linked to earlier outbreaks.

Micrograph of Ebola virus
Scientists say a recent Ebola virus strain is ⁠distinct from previous Bundibugyo ​outbreaks. (EPA PHOTO)

Researchers from DR Congo, Uganda, Belgium and other countries analysed the genetic make-up of virus samples from 22 patients in DR Congo and Uganda and concluded the outbreak ‌strain was genetically ⁠distinct from previous Bundibugyo Ebola viruses in ​outbreaks in 2007 and 2012.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, suggest the outbreak began with a fresh animal-to-human transmission event and was then spread between people.

The study ⁠did not identify the ‌animal ​source of the outbreak but Ebola viruses are known to spill ​over periodically from ‌infected animals to humans.

The genetic analysis helped confirm that ​cases detected in Uganda were linked to the outbreak in DR Congo.

Health workers wearing protective suits tend to an Ebola victim
There have been more then 2000 deaths from an outbreak of Ebola. (AP PHOTO)

The study’s authors said wider access to ​testing ​and virus sequencing could ​help detect future Ebola outbreaks earlier ‌and improve efforts to contain them.

There is no approved vaccine or treatment for Bundibugyo, although candidate vaccines and treatments are under development.

with AP and EFE

Reuters