GENEVA, May 29 — The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that there were 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths that were being investigated.
An outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is ongoing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with cases also reported in Uganda.
On Friday, it announced that there have been 125 confirmed cases of Ebola in the DRC, including 17 confirmed deaths in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu.
There have also been seven confirmed cases of Ebola in Uganda, three of which were imported from the DRC, and one death. However, no community transmission has been reported.
Earlier this month, the WHO said that the Ebola outbreak in the eastern DRC likely started two months ago. The outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no vaccine, was declared a public health emergency of international concern.
It has alarmed experts because it went undetected for so long while spreading across a densely populated area, making it difficult to trace and isolate the contacts of infected individuals.
High death rate
The WHO's Health Emergencies Programme's high threat pathogens team Anais Legand said that the rate of people who died among those confirmed to have the infection is between 30 per cent and 50 per cent.
“It is huge; it means that up to five out of 10 people are likely to die,” he said, adding that the data is preliminary and requires further investigation, and that early care could help drive down fatality rates.
The first recovered patient was discharged from a health centre in the DRC after receiving two negative test results, and Legand said she hoped many more would recover, stressing the importance of access to early care.
The WHO said testing capacity is being improved and that it was hopeful that most of the backlog of test samples from suspected cases will be processed in the coming days.
The number of suspected cases is likely to rise, but it is also a sign that surveillance is working.
"As for whether the peak has passed, investigations are still ongoing. I do not think we can say that at this stage," she said.
