More than 9,000 Ebola cases confirmed in DR Congo — Al Jazeera

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the number of confirmed Ebola cases has exceeded 9,000. The country’s Ministry of Health reported 9,066 confirmed cases and 4,381 deaths on Tuesday. Al Jazeera reports.

The largest outbreak in the country

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, has become the largest and deadliest in the history of the DR Congo. Globally, it is second only to the 2014–2016 epidemic in West Africa, when 28,600 confirmed cases and more than 11,000 deaths were recorded in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization.

There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain. Chikwe Ihekweazu, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said that a clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of a vaccine against this strain is being prepared for the DR Congo in the coming weeks.

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Community distrust and fighting

The current outbreak was officially declared in mid-May, although some experts believe it may have begun as early as February. The virus, which is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids, has spread to seven provinces in the north and east of the country.

Containing transmission is difficult because some local communities distrust medical workers and other response personnel. Some residents believe the disease is an invention by officials to misappropriate funds. The work is also complicated by the conflict between the M23 group and government forces, which makes it more difficult to deliver medical resources to remote areas.

Last week, Kenya reported the first imported case: a Kenyan citizen who had lived in the DR Congo travelled through Uganda to Nairobi, where he died. Uganda recorded 20 cases and two deaths earlier this year, but the country was declared Ebola-free in August.