The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen above 5,000, according to government data, as health authorities struggle to contain what has become the country’s largest outbreak on record.
The National Public Health Institute reported 5,021 confirmed cases in its latest situation update, with the death toll reaching 2,378 over the weekend.
The epidemic, Congo’s 17th recorded Ebola outbreak, surpassed the country’s previous worst outbreak from 2018 to 2020 in late July in terms of infections. It has now also exceeded that outbreak’s death toll.
The current crisis is the second-largest Ebola outbreak recorded globally, behind only the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic, which devastated Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Health officials have warned that containment efforts are failing to keep pace with the spread of the disease, raising concerns that infections could continue climbing.
The outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo species of the Ebola virus. Unlike some other Ebola strains, there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments specifically available for Bundibugyo Ebola.
Authorities are continuing surveillance and response operations as they attempt to bring the rapidly expanding outbreak under control.