DR Congo Ebola toll tops 5,000 as cases spread

BUNIA

An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed more than 5,000 people, government data released on Oct. 30 showed, as health officials urged stronger surveillance to contain its spread.

More than 10,000 people have been infected since the outbreak was declared in May.

It is the country’s largest Ebola outbreak and the second-largest worldwide, after the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa.

Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, has called for stronger monitoring at borders and health facilities.

“No country is safe unless we strengthen surveillance,” he told RFI in an Oct. 22 interview.

Cases linked to the outbreak have been reported in Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria.

A woman diagnosed in Nigeria was medically evacuated to Geneva on Oct. 26. A doctor diagnosed in France in June after returning from the DRC later recovered, with no secondary cases reported.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control assessed the likelihood of infection for people living in the European Union and European Economic Area as very low in its Oct. 29 update.

Cambridge University virologist Charlotte Houldcroft said Ebola’s incubation period could last up to 21 days, allowing infected travelers to arrive in another country before developing symptoms.

People do not transmit Ebola before symptoms appear, according to the World Health Organization.

It spreads mainly through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of infected people who are ill or have died, or with contaminated materials.

The outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine.

Early supportive care can improve survival, while isolation, contact tracing and infection control remain essential to containing transmission.

Diagnostic limitations delayed recognition of the outbreak. WHO representative Anne Ancia said in May that initial tests in Bunia targeted the Zaire Ebola virus and returned negative results, leading doctors to suspect malaria and salmonella infections.

A vaccine trial began in Bunia on Oct. 23 to assess protection against Bundibugyo.

The first vaccine being tested is Ervebo, which is already licensed against the Zaire Ebola virus.