More than 5,300 people have died from the latest Ebola outbreak in Africa, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) accounting for nearly all the fatalities, according to the continent’s leading public health agency.
Data released by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Monday showed that the outbreak had claimed 5,376 lives, including 5,372 in the DRC, two in Kenya and two in Uganda.
A total of 10,444 infections have been confirmed across affected countries, representing a fatality rate of more than 50 per cent.
The outbreak began in May when the DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak, triggering renewed concerns over the spread of the deadly virus across the continent, reports AFP.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people and can cause severe haemorrhagic fever. The disease has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past five decades.
The virus has crossed national borders several times in recent months, putting neighbouring countries on alert.
Uganda recorded 20 cases, almost all involving people who had travelled from the DRC, before declaring itself Ebola-free in August.
Kenya reported nine infections in October, marking the first time the country had recorded an Ebola outbreak.
Nigeria also reported an Ebola case in October involving a 42-year-old Swiss woman whose husband works at the Swiss Embassy in Abuja. The couple had travelled to Uganda before returning to Nigeria.
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which no approved vaccine or specific treatment is currently available.
However, clinical trials have begun in recent weeks involving the Ervebo vaccine, which has demonstrated effectiveness against the more common Zaire strain of the virus.
