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Congo Ebola Cases Near Record at 3,200 07/28 06:17
BUNIA, Congo (AP) -- Confirmed cases in Congo's ongoing Ebola outbreak have
reached 3,262, its Ministry of Health said in an overnight update, nearly the
same as the 2018-2020 outbreak that is the largest ever recorded in the country.
Data from the Congolese health ministry showed that 1,437 patients have died
out of the 3,262 cases, in what officials have said is the fastest Ebola
outbreak on record, concentrated in the eastern Ituri province.
The 2018-2020 outbreak that was recorded in Congo and neighboring Uganda
lasted roughly two years, with more than 3,400 reported cases, including over
2,200 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Only the 2014-2016 outbreak across West Africa, considered the worst in
history, had a higher toll with 28,000 cases and more than 11,000 deaths.
The speed of transmission in the current outbreak comes amid concerns from
residents that many communities in the affected provinces are either
unreachable or have been abandoned by responders in recent days over safety
concerns amid attacks from angry residents and rebels.
"The fact that, in just 10 weeks, we have reached nearly the same number of
cases recorded over an almost two-year outbreak is alarming and should stop us
in our tracks," Onesphore Bangenza, Mercy Corps response team lead in Bunia,
Ituri's capital, said Tuesday.
"There is no doubt that the virus is moving faster than we can contain it,"
Bangenza added.
The ongoing outbreak, which was declared on May 15, is unlike most previous
Ebola outbreaks because the Bundibugyo virus responsible for it has no approved
vaccines or treatments.
Efforts to slow the transmission have been challenged by rebel violence in
eastern Congo as well as health workers striking to protest the nonpayment of
their wages.
The outbreak continues to spread faster than health officials can track
despite an expanding response. A key challenge is that patient zero has yet to
be identified in the outbreak while 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.
Despite distrust between communities and health workers mostly seen at the
early stages of the outbreak, signs of progress have emerged.
"We can never again wage war against the Ebola teams. We have lost members
of our families. As a community, we have a vested interest in fighting Ebola to
return to normal life," said Fabrice Mumbesa, a resident of Mongbwalu, a mining
town at the center of the outbreak where residents previously burned down
several treatment centers.
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