The World Health Organization (WHO), and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), have confirmed 1,521 deaths from Ebola in what is now described as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever recorded.
So far, official figures show 3,442 laboratory-confirmed infections, with a current fatality rate of 44 percent. That means almost half of all confirmed cases have been fatal.
Experts believe there are still many undetected cases in communities. They suspect the virus had been spreading for months before the outbreak was first detected in mid-May.
The speed of transmission has now outpaced all previous Ebola epidemics.
Carl Skau, the Deputy Director of the World Food Programme, WFP, said on Wednesday: “This is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak of all time. In West Africa, it took eight months for 1,000 people to die.”
For comparison: More than 11,000 deaths were recorded in 2014–2015 West Africa outbrea. Around 2,300 deaths were also recorded in Eastern DRC in 2018–2020, the second-worst outbreak ever.
Ebola is a life-threatening disease transmitted through physical contact, especially with bodily fluids of infected persons.
Health authorities and partners are scaling up surveillance, contact tracing, treatment centres, and community sensitisation to contain the spread.
According to WHO, containing the outbreak will require urgent funding, vaccines, and better access to remote areas where cases are emerging.
