The situation is increasingly worrying in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Ebola cases continue to increase and authorities are already talking about an unprecedented spread.
The country’s Government has raised deaths to 1,801 and confirmed cases to 3,973. According to the latest bulletin published by the Ministry of Communication, the fatality rate reaches 45.3%; a more than worrying figure.
“The epidemic continues with a high level of virus circulation,” says the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) of the DRC. And although “a new geographical extension” has not taken place, the uncertainty in the population is more than evident.
“We agree on the need to adapt the response to the speed and trajectory of the outbreak, strengthen coordination under the leadership of the Government of the DRC and ensure that all partners work together to implement our shared strategy,” said the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom, who has met with the president of the Congolese country to strengthen the response to the virus. “Building trust and respecting local traditions, including those regarding safe and dignified burials, are essential to reaching affected communities and stopping transmission.”
New strategy to stop the virus
From the Government, in order to continue fighting the virus, one of the main objectives is “to prevent patients from dying in their homes instead of going to health structures.” Therefore, it is also important to protect and support health and community workers on the front line, to, among other things, ensure “adequate personal protective equipment and remuneration for work.”
The second outbreak with the most infections recorded
The current epidemic has already become the second most contagious outbreak in recorded history and the largest in terms of infections in the DRC, after surpassing the one that also occurred in eastern Congo between 2018 and 2020, which caused 2,299 deaths and 3,481 cases.
This is the seventeenth epidemic to affect the DRC and is the one with the fastest growth in infections compared to any other outbreak since its declaration, according to WHO data.
Even so, it is still far from the worst Ebola epidemic in history, which took place in West Africa between 2014 and 2016 and caused some 11,000 deaths and 28,000 infections.
