The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has recorded 1,521 deaths in its latest Ebola outbreak, with laboratory-confirmed infections increasing to 3,442, according to figures released by the Congolese government on Thursday.
Official data showed that the outbreak has a fatality rate of 44 per cent, indicating that nearly half of those confirmed to have contracted the virus have died.
Health experts, however, believe the actual number of infections could be much higher, as many cases are thought to have gone undetected before the disease was officially identified in mid-May.
The outbreak is spreading at an unprecedented pace. Speaking on Wednesday, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Carl Skau, described it as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever recorded.
He noted that during the 2014–2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, it took eight months for the death toll to reach 1,000. That outbreak eventually claimed more than 11,000 lives.
Skau also recalled that the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak, which occurred in eastern DR Congo between 2018 and 2020, resulted in about 2,300 deaths.
Ebola is a severe and often fatal viral disease that spreads through direct physical contact, particularly through exposure to the bodily fluids of an infected person.
Source: dpa/NAN