Ebola Cases Surge Past 8,000 in DRC as Contact Tracing Falters
The Health Ministry's latest situation update put the cumulative caseload at 8,067 since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, including 3,901 deaths. The case fatality rate stands at 48.4%.
The epidemic has spread across 63 health zones in seven provinces: Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Bas-Uele, Tshopo and South-Ubangi. Ituri remains the epicenter, accounting for 76.4% of all cases recorded to date.
Most of the newly confirmed deaths took place in the community rather than in treatment centers, in Ituri and North Kivu, which the update attributed to difficulties in detecting cases quickly. Contact tracing has slipped to 79.2% from 83.4% previously.
Transmission is sustained in Haut-Uele province, while Tshopo province has recorded renewed spread, the update showed.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned in a report last week that the virus's geographic expansion, including into newly affected areas of South Ubangi and Haut-Uele, has heightened the risk of cross-border transmission. The agency added that the climbing fatality ratio and the growing number of community deaths underscore how serious the disease is.
On funding, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said at least $2.9 billion has been mobilized for the Ebola response in the Africa region.
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