Ebola outbreak in DRC grows to 956 confirmed cases with 247 deaths
Health authorities report 23 new cases in Ituri and North Kivu as tracing lags behind target and officials warn the outbreak is still rising.
- The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached 956 confirmed cases and 247 deaths.
- Health officials state the outbreak is in an "upward phase," with 23 new infections and two new deaths reported in the latest update.
- The Ituri province is the epicenter, accounting for over 91% of all confirmed cases with 874 infections and 201 deaths.
- Authorities expect the number of cases to continue growing as response teams expand case-finding efforts.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has recorded 956 confirmed Ebola infections, with the death toll at 247, health authorities said in their latest situation report issued on Saturday (June 20).
The update added 23 confirmed infections reported on Friday from Ituri and North Kivu.
Two of the newly confirmed cases were fatal.
Ituri continues to be the centre of the outbreak.
The province has 874 confirmed cases and 201 deaths, representing more than 91 per cent of all confirmed infections reported across the country.
The authorities said 92 people had recovered.
A further 361 patients were either being kept in isolation or receiving hospital care.
The report said 162 suspected cases were identified during the day.
It also put the contact-tracing rate at 69.3 per cent, still well below the 95 per cent target set by health authorities.
Speaking at a press briefing on Friday evening, DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba said the outbreak remained in an “upward phase”.
He said further confirmed cases were expected as response teams widened active case-finding and pushed further into affected communities.
Kamba said officials would not be able to determine whether the outbreak had “reached its peak”, plateaued or started to decline until weekly figures had steadied or begun to fall.
He said the immediate priority remained to detect infections, isolate and treat patients, and strengthen community engagement.
Xinhua
