Confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo surpassed 6,000 on Monday as authorities intensified efforts to contain the outbreak, official data showed.
Congo has reported 6,041 cases, including 2,911 deaths, since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, according to the Health Ministry’s latest situation update.
At least 1,366 people have recovered, while 619 patients remain in isolation or hospital.
The latest Ebola outbreak in Congo is the world’s second-largest by recorded infections, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Active transmissions
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, has affected 60 health zones across six provinces: Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Bas-Uele and Tshopo.
The ministry said response efforts remain concentrated in areas with active transmission, with particular attention to Ituri, which accounts for the majority of cases and affected health zones.
The rise in cases and wider geographic spread over the past three months represent a “substantial increase” in the scale of the outbreak, according to the WHO.
The government has rolled out an Ebola vaccination campaign targeting health and frontline workers.
Potential vaccine candidate
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced last week a new $16.5 million partnership with African biopharmaceutical company Minapharm Group to develop its Bundibugyo vaccine candidate.
The outbreak in eastern Congo is spreading under extremely difficult conditions, fueled by insecurity, displacement, a health workers’ strike and intense population movements, WHO says.
The organisation adds that it remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the deadliest on record, which killed more than 11,000 people, primarily in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
