The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has killed 5,376 people across Africa, most of them in the DRC, according to the Africa CDC, which gave the figure on Monday. The Bundibugyo strain driving the outbreak has no approved vaccine or treatment, according to Euronews.
The Africa CDC said 5,372 of the deaths were in the DRC, with two each in Kenya and Uganda, according to Al Jazeera. The agency told AFP the same total on Monday, according to Euronews.
The Bundibugyo strain has infected about 10,444 people in the DRC, Uganda and Kenya, with a death rate above 50 percent, according to Al Jazeera. Africanews reported that as of Friday, the DRC death toll had reached 5,372, with a case fatality rate of 51.6 percent, based on new data.
The DRC declared its 17th and largest Ebola outbreak in mid-May. Euronews describes it as the fastest-growing and most widespread Ebola epidemic on record.
The outbreak has also reached neighbouring countries. Kenya recorded two deaths and nine infections in October, its first recorded Ebola cases, according to Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera reported that Abuja recorded its first imported Ebola case in October, the first in more than a decade, with no recorded deaths. Uganda recorded 20 cases, almost all among people who had travelled from the DRC, before being declared Ebola-free in August, according to the reporting.
Clinical trials of the Ervebo vaccine have begun in recent weeks, according to Al Jazeera. The vaccine has proved effective against the Zaire strain, but the Bundibugyo strain is a different strain, and the sources give no timeline or results for the trials.
No response from DRC health authorities or the Africa CDC on the progress of the vaccine trials was reported. Nigeria’s two suspected cases tested negative in the northeast, while Euronews describes an October case involving a Swiss woman. The sources do not say whether these cases are linked.
The figures rely mainly on the Africa CDC’s own data, and no second independent source confirms the death tolls. The sources also give different reference dates, so the current toll may be higher. Africanews was available only as a headline and short excerpt, so its figures could not be checked against the full article.
The outbreak’s trajectory and further cross-border spread remain unclear.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.