The Democratic Republic of Congo has reported its largest single-day increase in Ebola cases since an outbreak was declared in May, with infections rising by 72 in 24 hours as the virus reached two more health zones.
The Health Ministry said late Sunday that confirmed cases had climbed to 782 since the Bundibugyo strain outbreak was declared on May 15.
Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, recorded the sharpest rise, with 56 new cases.
“The high number of detected cases reflects more active community surveillance. The population reports, the teams investigate,” the ministry said in its latest situation update.
The death toll rose by 29 to 181, pushing the case fatality rate to 23.1%, up from 21%. At least 40 people have recovered since the start of the outbreak.
The newly affected health zones are Nia-Nia in Ituri and Mabalako in North Kivu, bringing the total number of impacted zones to 31 across three provinces.
Authorities said emergency response teams were being deployed to the newly affected areas.
The ministry has warned that the response is being hampered by a $21.5 million funding gap, limited capacity in Ebola treatment centres, weak contact tracing and shortages of infection prevention and control supplies.
Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said Sunday that the agency was sending technical experts and supporting laboratory systems, active case finding and community engagement to help contain the outbreak.
“We remain committed to supporting affected countries until transmission is stopped,” Kaseya said, urging partners and donors to quickly mobilise resources “to strengthen the response and save lives.”