Ebola Death Toll in DR Congo Exceeds 600... "Fastest Spread in History"

The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda has surpassed 600.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the public health agency of the African Union (AU), has expressed concern that the outbreak is seeing the "fastest spread in history" based on the first six weeks of the epidemic.
According to the DRC Ministry of Communication and Media on July 9 (local time), the cumulative number of confirmed Ebola cases in the country reached 1,759 as of July 7, an increase of 51 from the previous day.
The number of deaths rose by 20 from the day before to 600, bringing the fatality rate to 34.1 percent.
The ministry reported that 285 people have been declared recovered, and the contact tracing rate for those who had contact with confirmed cases stands at 80 percent.
Samuel-Roger Kamba, the Minister of Health of the DRC, announced on the same day that confirmed cases have been identified in Tshopo and Haut-Uele provinces, in addition to the previously affected northeastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu, leading these areas to be classified as response zones.
However, he added that South Kivu has not seen any additional confirmed cases since May 26, and a declaration of the end of the outbreak there is expected soon.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that Wesam Mankoula, head of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Division at the Africa CDC, stated during an online briefing that confirmed cases in the DRC increased by 25 percent in one week, noting that the speed of the spread is faster than any previous Ebola outbreak.
He explained that during the 2013–2016 West Africa Ebola epidemic, which resulted in a total of over 11,000 deaths, there were only 994 confirmed cases in the first six weeks following the declaration of the outbreak, which is lower than the 1,596 cases confirmed during the same period in the current outbreak.
He identified issues such as a lack of financial support, insufficient capacity for safe burials of the deceased, and the infection and death of healthcare workers, noting that for every 10 current Ebola patients, 14 new cases are emerging.
Mankoula reported that there are currently 112 healthcare workers infected with Ebola in the DRC, 35 of whom have died.
However, he added that it is positive that the diagnostic capacity for Ebola has been expanded to 2,000 people per day.
Mankoula also praised Uganda's response to Ebola, stating that the fact that no additional cases have been reported in Uganda since June 21 demonstrates that the virus can be controlled.
In Uganda, there have been a total of 20 cumulative confirmed cases, of which two have died, 17 have recovered, and one is still undergoing treatment.
The Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda was declared on May 15.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern" two days later, on May 17.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.