Over 2,000 people have died from the Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since last August, when the latest virus outbreak started, while the number of registered Ebola cases has reached 3,000 in the country, according to official figures from the World Health Organization.
“As the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reaches 3000 cases, WHO calls for the full force of all partners to respond and increase their presence in the field to stop Ebola and to address one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the world,” the WHO said in a press release.
Recent live data on the WHO website shows Ebola deaths have reached 2,006 and cases at 3,004.
The organization added that most of the cases were in North Kivu province.
“In the past 10 weeks, an average of 80 people per week are sickened by the virus,” the WHO stated.
In July, the WHO said that the Ebola outbreak in the DRC constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. The Ebola virus is transmitted to humans from wild animals and is estimated by the WHO to have a 50-percent fatality rate. Ebola is named after the DRC’s Ebola River, which is near where the virus was discovered by Belgian microbiologist Peter Piot and his team in 1976.
The most severe Ebola outbreak took place in West Africa from 2013-2016, resulting in the death of more than 11,000 people. (UNI)
