Ebola Cases In DRC Hit Over 5000 As Pope Leo Demands Global Action | Sahara Reporters

The figures, released on Sunday, showed that 51 new cases were detected in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, bringing the case fatality rate to nearly 48 per cent.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached 5,515 confirmed cases, with 2,642 deaths recorded, according to the latest government figures.

The figures, released on Sunday, showed that 51 new cases were detected in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, bringing the case fatality rate to nearly 48 per cent.

The development came as Pope Leo called for international action to help contain the epidemic, which is now the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the DRC’s history.

Declared in mid-May, the outbreak is the DRC’s 17th Ebola epidemic and has been designated a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO), its highest alert level. The declaration also covers neighbouring Uganda.

The outbreak is on course to surpass the deadliest Ebola epidemic on record, the 2014–2016 outbreak in West Africa, which killed more than 11,000 people.

According to government figures, the case fatality rate has risen from about 20 per cent in early June to nearly 48 per cent, meaning almost one in two people infected are dying.

Contact tracing, however, has improved significantly, rising from 30 per cent in June to more than 85 per cent.

The disease has also taken a heavy toll on health workers. About 160 health workers have been infected, while around 45 have died, according to the WHO.

Efforts to contain the outbreak have been hampered by armed conflict in the affected provinces, displacement, attacks on medical personnel and health facilities, a mobile working population and a lack of critical infrastructure.

There is no approved vaccine or treatment specifically for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which is rarer than the strain responsible for most previous outbreaks.

The WHO has pledged 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, which is licensed for Ebola and has proved effective in previous outbreaks.

According to the global health body, early data from animal trials suggest the vaccine may offer some protection against the Bundibugyo strain.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other officials said the response in the DRC needed to be scaled up two to threefold to contain the outbreak and reach all affected areas.

They also called for greater support and protection for frontline health workers, including protective equipment, timely payment, rapid diagnosis and access to quality supportive care if they become ill.

Abdulsalami Nasidi, a public health consultant who helped establish the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, told Al Jazeera that the outbreak was “getting out of hand”.

He attributed the continued transmission to weak infection control measures and a lack of trust between authorities and affected communities.

“This is no longer just a national or regional issue; it is a global issue. If it spreads to neighbouring places with lower immunity, it will be a disaster,” Nasidi said.

The WHO currently rates the risk to the global public as low but warns that the risk within the DRC remains very high.

Despite the rising number of cases, Uganda and several health zones in DRC’s Ituri and South Kivu provinces have interrupted transmission.

The WHO said this demonstrated that rapid detection, decisive leadership and community cooperation could break the chain of transmission.

At the Vatican on Sunday, Pope Leo offered prayers for the DRC “in light of the spread of the Ebola epidemic, which is sadly claiming many lives”.

The pontiff also called for global action to help save lives.

“I urge the international community to respond in a way that also involves local communities in prevention efforts to save as many lives as possible,” he said.