Symbolic imageEbola deaths pass 5,300 as Congo's fatality rate tops 50%
Africa CDC counts 5,376 Ebola deaths, almost all in Congo, from the Bundibugyo strain, for which no vaccine or treatment is approved. Congo's public health institute puts its fatality rate at 51.6%.
Africa CDC figures passed to AFP on Monday, 2 November, show 5,376 deaths among 10,444 cases, of which 5,372 deaths were in Congo and two each in Uganda and Kenya. Congo declared the outbreak on 15 May, and TASS calls it the second deadliest in Africa's recorded history. Congo's national public health institute reports 10,414 confirmed cases and a fatality rate up from 48.6% a week earlier. It attributes the jump to a retrospective data adjustment in Ituri Province, not to a sudden rise in mortality.
Spread beyond Congo
Uganda reported 20 cases before declaring its outbreak over in August, and Kenya recorded nine cases in October, according to Le Monde. Nigeria confirmed a case on 20 October, a 42-year-old Swiss woman who had travelled to Uganda. FAZ adds that infected aid workers were treated in five European countries, but it expects no large outbreaks there.
Response under strain
Le Monde reports that response teams lack resources in remote regions where armed groups hinder travel, and that local distrust has caused several incidents. Volunteers in Congo have received first doses of Ervebo in a trial, though it is proven only against the Zaire strain. From Wednesday the US requires entrants to declare any stay in Congo in the past three weeks, FAZ notes.