Africa's latest Ebola outbreak has killed nearly 5,400 people, the vast majority of them in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the continent's top health agency.
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) told the AFP on Monday that the outbreak, which has spread to other countries on the continent, has killed 5,376 people – 5,372 in the DRC and two each in Kenya and Uganda.
The outbreak, which began in the DRC in May, has infected more than 10,000 people, with an over 50% fatality rate, according to the country’s latest data from 31 October, making it the fastest-growing and most widespread Ebola epidemic on record.
Neighbouring Uganda recorded 20 cases, almost all involving people who had travelled from the DRC, before being declared Ebola-free in August.
In October, Kenya recorded nine infections, marking the first time the country had reported an Ebola case.
That same month, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, reported an Ebola case involving a 42-year-old Swiss woman whose husband works at his country’s embassy in Abuja. The couple had travelled to Uganda before returning home.
The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccine or treatment. The virus is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and causes haemorrhagic fever.
In recent weeks, clinical trials of the Ervebo vaccine, which has proved effective against the more common Zaire strain of Ebola, have begun.
