Africa’s top health agency revised the death toll from the continent’s latest Ebola outbreak to 5,376 people, most of whom died in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) data shared Monday, 5,372 deaths occurred in Congo, with two each in Kenya and Uganda.
Congo declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in mid-May. The disease, which causes hemorrhagic fever and spreads through contact with bodily fluids, has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.
In the latest outbreak, 10,444 cases have been confirmed, with a fatality rate of more than 50%.
The virus has crossed borders several times in recent months. Neighboring Uganda recorded 20 cases, almost all involving people who traveled from Congo, before being declared Ebola-free in August.
In October, Kenya reported nine infections, marking its first recorded Ebola case.
That month, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, also reported an Ebola case involving a 42-year-old Swiss woman whose husband works at the Swiss embassy in Abuja. The couple traveled to Uganda before returning to Nigeria.
The outbreak stems from the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no approved vaccine or treatment is available.
In recent weeks, clinical trials began for the Ervebo vaccine, which proved effective against the more common Zaire strain of the virus.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
