Kinshasa, July 27 (IANS) The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached 3,200, with the death toll rising to 1,405, according to the latest situation report released by the country’s health authorities late Sunday.
The report, covering data through Saturday, said the country had recorded 3,200 confirmed cases, including 1,405 deaths and 571 recoveries. A total of 773 patients remained in isolation, while 125 new confirmed cases and 51 confirmed deaths were reported over the previous 24 hours.
The report said Ituri Province remained the epicentre of the outbreak, accounting for 89 per cent of all confirmed cases, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The epidemic continues to be driven by population movements, insecurity, artisanal mining activities, and cross-border travel with Uganda and South Sudan, according to the report. Authorities said they would continue strengthening surveillance, scaling up response measures, and limiting further spread of the virus.
The report said the outbreak remained in a phase of sustained transmission, with a high level of virus circulation.
Treatment capacity also remained under pressure. North Kivu Province had 171 patients in isolation despite a capacity of 141 beds, corresponding to an occupancy rate of 121.3 per cent, while nationwide bed occupancy stood at 82.1 percent.
Declared on May 15, the ongoing Ebola outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus and has spread from the northeastern province of Ituri to five provinces.
DR Congo Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka warned on Friday that the outbreak could further aggravate the humanitarian crisis in the eastern DRC.
Speaking on Friday in Bunia, the capital of the eastern Ituri Province and the epicentre of the outbreak, Suminwa said the government has disbursed 50 million US dollars for the response, in addition to funds mobilised by international partners.
The prime minister also said researchers were working to develop a treatment and a vaccine against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, the virus strain responsible for the current outbreak in the DRC.
There is currently no approved vaccine or specifically licensed treatment for the Bundibugyo ebolavirus. Several experimental vaccines and therapeutics are undergoing clinical evaluation.
The University of Oxford announced on Friday that the first volunteer has been vaccinated in the world’s first human trial of a vaccine, known as ChAdOx1 BDBV, designed to protect against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
–IANS
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