A health worker dries boots that were washed to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus at a treatment center in Ituri.
A fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is now the country’s deadliest ever after killing more than 2,300 people in three months, government figures showed on Aug. 17.
The United Nations says the Ebola outbreak “is the fastest growing on record” and is killing a victim every 30 minutes in the DRC.
No specific vaccine or treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain behind the current surge of Ebola, which spreads through contact with bodily fluids and causes a hemorrhagic fever.
Declared on May 15, the DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak is thought to have already been spreading for several weeks by that point.
It has hit regions in the north and east where the presence of the state is weak, health infrastructure is largely lacking and myriad armed groups have roamed for decades.
A 2018-2020 outbreak in the DRC, previously considered the country’s deadliest, killed 2,299 people out of 3,381 confirmed cases, according to World Health Organization (WHO) figures based on Congolese data.
In its latest toll on Aug. 17, the Congolese authorities said that 2,325 people had died in the current outbreak, from 4,945 confirmed cases.
The deadliest Ebola outbreak ever hit west Africa in 2013-2016, killing more than 11,300 people, mainly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
The WHO last week said it hoped to reverse the spread of the disease in the DRC within three months.
Despite efforts by international organizations, the response has faced criticism for being slow and unorganized.
Local staff, including nurses and those in charge of safe burials, have gone on strike or demonstrated in several hospitals in Ituri in recent weeks to demand payment of bonuses.
