Confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo have passed 11,000, according to government data released on Tuesday. The figures show 11,042 confirmed infections and at least 5,387 deaths, Al Jazeera and NTV reported. Health authorities are struggling to contain the outbreak, the largest and deadliest in the country's history.
The rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus is driving the outbreak, which was declared in mid-May. No vaccine or treatment has been approved for this strain. According to Al Jazeera, it kills about half of the people it infects. That has made containment especially hard.
Eight of the country's 26 provinces have been hit. Many people have died outside treatment centres. Delayed detection, conflict and strained health services have helped the virus spread faster than in earlier outbreaks, the reports said.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday that 71 confirmed cases have been found along transit routes since the outbreak began almost six months ago, UN News reported. The agency urged authorities to widen surveillance beyond formal routes.
It is now the second-largest and second-deadliest Ebola outbreak on record. Only the 2014-2016 West African epidemic was worse. That outbreak infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000. Cases have now been reported in East, Central and West Africa, the widest spread of any Ebola outbreak on the continent so far.
Help may still be months away. Earlier this month, the World Health Organization approved clinical trials of two new Ebola vaccines. According to Al Jazeera, the agency expects results in early 2027.