The Congolese Ministry of Health said in a statement on the social media platform X on Sunday evening that the number of confirmed Ebola cases in Congo had risen to 782, with 181 deaths recorded.
The ministry added that 40 people have recovered, and that the current mortality rate for this outbreak is 23.1%.
The ministry stated that the increase in the number of detected cases reflects an increase in the effectiveness of community surveillance, noting that residents report cases while medical teams conduct investigations.
In its statement, it stressed that vigilance is more necessary than ever for everyone, in order to contain the epidemic and prevent it from spreading further.
The number of detectable devices reflète also has a more active remote surveillance. The population signal, the equipment…
compatriots discovered that the Ebola virus had infected the epidemic. Autumn, 5 new patients in areas near Santé de Rwampara, Mongbwalu and Mambasa on these areas. The images in the video that were previously live… pic.twitter.com/aYdT5XbOhA
The number of cases in Congo is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed on May 15, weeks after it was suspected to have started, and the contact tracing coverage rate is 56%, a sharp drop from last week.
The latest Ebola outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no vaccine or approved treatment, unlike the Zaire virus, which was responsible for most of the previous 16 outbreaks in Congo.
This outbreak is concentrated in Ituri province in eastern Congo, which accounts for more than 90% of the cases. Cases have also been recorded in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, and have spread across the border into Uganda.
Nearly one million people have been displaced by the conflict in Ituri, according to the UN humanitarian office, making contact tracing difficult as people flee attacks or move frequently in the vast province with its dense forests, poor roads, and remote villages that can take days to reach.
Tracking is also difficult among the thousands of traditional miners who regularly move between remote sites in the mineral-rich region.
Last month, U.S. officials said Washington planned to send Americans exposed to Ebola while abroad to a new facility in Kenya instead of flying them home, stating that the center would be based at Laikipia Air Base with a capacity of 50 quarantine beds.
This move led to protests against plans to build an Ebola quarantine center, and was later halted by the courts.
