Congo’s Ebola Cases Surpass 8,000 as Health System Comes Under Strain

AP

A health worker sprays a coffin of a person that died of Ebola.

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has surpassed 8,000, as the country faces a growing shortage of healthcare workers needed to contain the deadly outbreak.

Congo declared the outbreak on 15 May after cases of the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus were detected. The strain has no known approved treatment or vaccine, complicating efforts to bring the outbreak under control.

According to the latest figures released by the Ministry of Health on Sunday, 8,067 cases had been confirmed by 26 September, with 3,901 deaths recorded across 63 health zones in seven of the country’s 26 provinces, representing a fatality rate of more than 48%.

“The continuously high crude case fatality ratio, and especially the continuously high rate of deaths occurring in communities, highlights the seriousness of the disease and the persistent challenges in timely case detection and access to early and adequate patient care,” the World Health Organization said in its latest report.

Last week, WHO said that Congo was running out of health workers to contain the disease. Health workers have complained about delayed or missing payments, triggering several strikes. According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 50 health workers have died since the outbreak was announced.

Some areas have shown signs of improvement, with fewer confirmed cases in the past several weeks, including in Ituri province and Haut-Uele, but officials say the disease is spreading further in other areas, expanding its geographical reach.



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