While Congolese officials say the sharp rise in new cases appears to be slowing, they caution the outbreak has not yet peaked. The latest report by the country's public health institute said transmission remains sustained, with recent fluctuations in cases likely influenced by reporting delays and ongoing data consolidation.
The latest update from Congo’s public health institute said there have been 2,536 confirmed Ebola cases and 1,033 deaths, with at least 738 patients in isolation or hospitalised.
The outbreak declared on May 15 is unlike most previous instances of Ebola spreading through communities because the Bundibugyo virus responsible has no approved vaccines or treatments.
“There’s never been an Ebola outbreak that started with so many cases because it was so late to be identified,” Trish Newport, emergency programme manager for Doctors Without Borders, who has been working in Congo, told the Associated Press (AP).
In a worst-case scenario, the current outbreak could approach the worst in history, according to computer modelling by researchers at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) last month.
