Democratic Congo Ebola death toll exceeds 5,000... Concerns about spread across Africa

(Istanbul = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Dong-ho = The number of Ebola deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo) in Africa has exceeded 5,000.

According to Reuters on the 30th (local time), more than 5,000 people have died from Ebola. This is 168 days after Democratic Congo declared an Ebola outbreak on May 15.

On the 31st, the Associated Press reported, citing the latest data from the Democratic Congo Ministry of Health, that 5,026 people had died out of a total of 10,351 confirmed cases. Almost half of those infected with Ebola died.

Only 2,788 people have recovered from the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) determined that one-third of those who died did not receive any medical treatment and died before being tested for Ebola.

This Ebola outbreak is the second largest in history, following the 2014-2016 West African pandemic (28,616 confirmed cases, 11,310 deaths), but the spread is much faster than before.

This time, the Ebola virus is not the representative Zaire type but the rare Bundibo type, so there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

In addition, it is pointed out that many of the outbreak areas are rebel-controlled areas, so the health authorities' actions were not carried out smoothly, and the poor treatment of medical staff, such as residents' distrust of medical staff and non-payment of wages, made it difficult to prevent the spread.

Last week, a case of Ebola infection was reported in Nigeria, expanding the outbreak area in Africa to West Africa. Cases of infection have also been reported in Kenya and Uganda in East Africa.