More than 5,000 cases of Ebola have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, making the country's latest outbreak the deadliest in its history, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency said Wednesday that the outbreak has so far killed 2,378 people out of 5,021 confirmed cases.
The outbreak, declared May 15, is the DRC's 17th and is believed to have been spreading for several weeks before it was officially detected.
It has affected parts of northern and eastern DRC, where weak state presence, limited health infrastructure and decades of armed conflict have complicated efforts to contain the virus.
The current outbreak has surpassed the previous deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country, which lasted from 2018 to 2020 and killed 2,299 people from 3,381 confirmed cases, according to World Health Organization figures based on Congolese data.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Tuesday that the outbreak remained largely uncontrolled.
“The epidemic is far from being under control,” Tedros said, adding that the risk of further national and international spread remained high.
The response has also been hindered by mistrust in some communities, including refusals to undergo testing, according to the Africa CDC.
“There are difficulties persist, including refusals of testing and resistance in some communities, which hinders surveillance and control activities,” the agency said.
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a strain of Ebola for which there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment. Clinical trials are underway.
The World Health Organization said efforts were being intensified to reach affected communities, while the European Union announced Tuesday that it would provide testing kits worth 2.5 million euros, or about $2.9 million.
Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people across Africa over the past five decades.
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