The number of deaths caused by the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has exceeded 3,900, while confirmed cases have risen to 8,067, according to authorities and official reports. The outbreak is described as the largest and deadliest in the African country's history, after the virus spread beyond efforts to contain and control it.
World Health Organisation warning and rising cases
Official reports said that the movement of people between cities had directly contributed to the transmission of the infection and the expansion of outbreak clusters in several areas. The widening epidemic prompted the United Nations, in cooperation with local authorities, to expand screening operations and establish barriers between cities and neighbourhoods in an attempt to contain the infection and prevent its spread to new areas.
Trust barriers and attacks hinder response
Medical teams face additional operational obstacles, foremost among them a lack of community trust in healthcare workers. Treatment centres and burial teams have also come under several attacks, following accusations by victims' families that health authorities had failed to protect their relatives' lives.
The currently circulating Bundibugyo strain is making the crisis more difficult, with the United Nations describing it as a rare strain that has not been sufficiently studied and for which no treatment is currently available. According to the organisation, the prospects of controlling the epidemic depend on applying public safety measures and detecting infection with the virus early.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, whether alive or dead. The virus causes severe symptoms including fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, while serious cases can develop into internal and external bleeding.
