Ebola cases kill over 1,500 people during fastest-growing outbreak, Congo data shows

BUNIA, Congo — The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak has killed more than 1,500 people in eastern Congo, official data released on Thursday showed, marking a 50% increase in around a week that shows the emergency continuing to outpace response efforts.As of Tuesday, 3,442 cases had been recorded, with 1,521 deaths, according to the latest government update.The outbreak, which was declared on May 15, has been linked to the Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.There are currently 797 patients in isolation or hospitalized, while a further 615 patients have recovered, the data showed.Contact tracing continues to lag, with only around 78% of known contacts monitored nationwide, well below the 95% target health officials say is needed to interrupt transmission.Displacement from armed conflict and illegal mining in the region have made it difficult to trace thousands who have come in contact with infected individuals.The outbreak is mostly concentrated in eastern Congo’s remote Ituri province, which accounts for nearly 90% of cases, but there have been others confirmed in five provinces, including one of the country’s largest cities, Kisangani.Neighboring Uganda declared itself free of Ebola on Tuesday following the discharge of the country’s last patient in mid-June.Ebola is rare, but highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen.

The disease it causes is severe and often fatal.The latest outbreak has killed more people at a quicker rate than any previous outbreak, including in 2014-2016 when 28,000 cases were reported, of which over 11,000 people died.That outbreak took about eight months to reach 1,000 deaths.The World Health Organization says the global risk of spread remains low because Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids, not through the air, making it much harder to spread than respiratory viruses.

Cases detected outside the affected region have so fa...