Congo says 2,000 people died in Ebola outbreak, fastest growing on record
Passengers who disembarked from a boat intercepted by health authorities wait to be tested following the death of a passenger suspected of having Ebola, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Aug. 6. Reuters-Yonhap
BUNIA, Congo — At least 2,000 people have died among the confirmed cases in Congo’s Ebola outbreak that is the fastest growing on record, according to the latest government data.
Data published overnight into Tuesday showed the outbreak has recorded a total of 4,381 confirmed cases, including 2,011 deaths. A total of 704 patients are in admission and isolation.
The grim toll comes nearly three months since the outbreak was declared on May 15. While it took about 9 weeks for the outbreak to record 1,000 deaths, it’s taken just around 3 weeks to record the additional 1,000 deaths, underscoring the complaints from responders that help is not getting quickly enough to remote localities.
The Ebola outbreak is unlike most previous ones because the rare Bundibugyo virus responsible for it has no approved vaccines or treatments. The World Health Organization said on Monday that it started in February, long before authorities detected it in one of Congo’s most remote and vulnerable areas.
The first Ebola virus to be identified was in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now Congo. The current outbreak is the 17th — and largest — the Central African nation has faced.