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Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo Surpasses 11,000 Confirmed Cases, With 5,387 Deaths
By Maya Wilson
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The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 11,000 confirmed infections, with 5,387 people dead, according to government data reported by Reuters on Tuesday, November 10.
The confirmed case total has reached 11,042, making the outbreak the second-largest and deadliest on record, Reuters reported. Al Jazeera independently reported the milestone and the same death toll.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo species of the Ebola virus and was declared in mid-May. Reuters reported that there are no approved treatments or vaccines for this species.
Eight of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s 26 provinces have been affected, according to Reuters. Many of the deaths have occurred outside treatment centres, the news agency reported.
The outbreak has also spread across a wider area than any previous Ebola outbreak on the continent. Reuters reported cases in East, Central and West Africa, giving the current outbreak the widest geographic spread recorded for an Ebola outbreak in Africa.
The only outbreak to have infected more people was the 2014–2016 epidemic in West Africa, which recorded more than 28,600 infections and more than 11,000 deaths, according to Reuters.
The current outbreak remains second to that epidemic on both measures — smaller in confirmed cases and lower, so far, in reported deaths. Its total of 11,042 confirmed infections and 5,387 deaths is based on Congolese government data cited by Reuters.
The figures mark a major milestone in an outbreak that has become the second-largest and second-deadliest Ebola epidemic recorded, according to the reporting.
— Maya Wilson, World Desk
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