DistantNews
Support us
WHO says Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading rapidly, with 3,000 deaths
🇹🇷 Turkey /Health & Science

WHO says Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading rapidly, with 3,000 deaths

From Cumhuriyet · () Turkish

Translated from Turkish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Ongoing story
  • WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has exceeded 6,000 cases and 3,000 deaths.
  • The outbreak affects six provinces and 60 health zones, with Ituri accounting for 85% of cases and 88% of deaths.
  • WHO is working with the Congolese government, Africa CDC and other partners, while trials of three vaccines are planned in October or November.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has become the second-largest on record and the fastest-spreading outbreak seen so far, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. More than 6,000 cases have been recorded, with deaths reaching 3,000.

The outbreak now affects six provinces and 60 health zones across a wide area. Ituri province remains the epicenter, accounting for 85% of cases and 88% of deaths. Ghebreyesus said one of the most worrying features was that many people were dying outside treatment centers.

He also warned that unsafe burials were fueling transmission. Many deaths were occurring among people who did not appear on lists of known contacts, he said, indicating that transmission chains remained unidentified. The outbreak would continue until every chain was found and broken, posing a threat to the Democratic Republic of Congo, its neighbors and the wider region.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the second-largest on record and the fastest-spreading outbreak we have ever seen.

— Tedros Adhanom GhebreyesusThe WHO director-general described the scale and speed of the outbreak.

The Ebola outbreak is unfolding in a region already affected by decades of conflict, displacement, poverty and hunger. WHO said it was expanding every part of the response under the leadership of the Congolese government and in partnership with Africa CDC and other organizations. More than 330 tonnes of emergency supplies and over 300 experts have been deployed.

Two new vaccines targeting the Bundibugyo virus are undergoing safety trials in Britain and Canada. An approved vaccine exists for the Zaire ebolavirus, which caused most previous Ebola outbreaks, but its effectiveness against Bundibugyo virus remains unknown. WHO is working with partners to advance all three vaccines into efficacy trials in the Democratic Republic of Congo beginning in October or November.

Many deaths are occurring among people who are not on the list of known contacts. This means there are transmission chains we do not know about.

— Tedros Adhanom GhebreyesusHe warned that unidentified transmission chains were allowing the outbreak to continue.
About this summary

Originally published by Cumhuriyet in Turkish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog