More than 5,000 people have died from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo since an outbreak was declared in mid-May, according to a Health Ministry update.
The cumulative number of cases has reached 10,351, the ministry said on Saturday, as authorities battle the country’s largest and deadliest Ebola outbreak on record.
Eight provinces have been affected: Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Bas-Uele, Tshopo, South Ubangi and North Ubangi.
The outbreak is the second-largest globally, after the 2014–2016 epidemic in West Africa.
Call for stronger measures
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) called on Friday for stronger measures to protect frontline workers after two young Congolese doctors died from Ebola earlier in the week in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.
Gaps in early detection and contact tracing remain among the main obstacles to stopping transmission, according to health authorities.
Only about 12 percent of confirmed cases have been identified among previously known contacts, while many deaths have occurred in communities, authorities said.
