Congo’s Health Ministry reported 5,026 deaths among 10,351 people infected in the country’s Ebola outbreak, according to an Associated Press report published by PBS NewsHour on Oct. 31. The rising toll comes as health authorities struggle to identify transmission chains and keep treatment services operating.
The outbreak, declared in mid-May and caused by the Bundibugyo virus, has reached eight provinces. Of the 67 health zones affected, 50 still had active cases. Eastern Congo’s Ituri and North Kivu provinces account for most recorded infections and deaths.
About 80% of new cases were being detected outside monitored contact networks, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Patrick Otim, a World Health Organization programme area manager, said roughly a third of recorded deaths occurred outside treatment centers, before patients had been tested for Ebola.
The report said 2,788 people had recovered. No known vaccine or treatment exists for the Bundibugyo virus, it said, leaving health workers to provide care directed at patients’ symptoms.
Armed conflict is restricting health workers’ access in the east, while disbelief about the disease has fueled attacks on staff and facilities. A nurse responding to an Ebola alert was killed the week before the report.
Payment disputes have also interrupted care. Workers at a treatment center in Tchomia, Ituri, stopped work on Oct. 30 to demand four months of unpaid wages. The center was caring for five confirmed patients and 10 suspected cases, AP reported.
The outbreak’s reach has extended beyond Congo. Kenya confirmed eight cases and two deaths in October, while Nigeria reported one confirmed patient who had been evacuated to Switzerland. With earlier cases in Uganda, AP described the outbreak as Africa’s most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak on record.