Desperate race to contain Ebola in DR Congo as deadly outbreak reaches 100 days

Death toll now at 2,500 and accelerating as less than half of pledged international funding disbursed, UN says

Pope Leo called on Sunday for international action to help ​contain the impact of an Ebola outbreak ‌in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has so far claimed more than 2,500 lives.

Case fatality rate climbs to nearly 48 percent in DRC, meaning almost one in two people infected with Ebola are dying.

“I encourage a response from the international community that also involves local communities in efforts to save many human lives,” Pope Leo XIV says on DR Congo’s Ebola outbreak.

The outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo was declared 100 days ago and is spreading faster than any on record, officials said.

Pope Leo urges global action to confront Congo's Ebola outbreak  Reuters

[allAfrica] Each time we travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we first go to listen.

BUNIA, Congo (AP) -- Congo has received more than 16,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine as the country grapples with the fastest Ebola outbreak in histor

The death toll has accelerated sharply, with roughly half of the more than 2,500 deaths recorded in the past 20 days – with the threat fuelled by a mix of conflict, misinformation and services strained by aid cuts. Liz Cookman reports

Tens of thousands of doses of a vaccine used for previous strains of Ebola have begun arriving in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has received more than 16,000 doses of an Ebola vaccine, as authorities step up efforts against the ongoing outbreak. More than 2,500 people have already died and health officials from the WHO are warning this epidemic could surpass the deadliest on record – that occurred between 2014 a

Congo receives more than 16,000 doses of Ebola vaccine as it grapples with unprecedented outbreak  Toronto Star

Congo has received more than 16,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine as the country grapples with the fastest Ebola outbreak in history, the country’s health minister said

Congo receives more than 16,000 doses of Ebola vaccine as it grapples with unprecedented outbreak  AP News

About half of the 2,500 recorded deaths from Ebola happened in the last 20 days, the WHO says.

The Ebola outbreak raging in the Democratic Republic of Congo is growing "exponentially", with more than 2,500 deaths recorded and half of those in the last 20 days, the senior UN coordinator on the disease has said.

More than 2,500 people have died from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a UN coordinator who says it's spreading to an area larger than France.

As the deadliest Ebola outbreak in DR Congo’s history continued spreading on Friday, UN responders renewed their urgent appeal for immediate international support, with existing funding for lifesaving work critically low.

The Ebola outbreak is already the biggest in the country's history and is spreading faster than any outbreak on record.

Canada has donated only $8-million to combat the epidemic, far less than it gave during the 2014 outbreak

WHO said in a statement that while it's not known whether Ervebo may protect against the Bundibugyo virus, "early laboratory and animal data suggest it may provide some protection."

Last week, the DRC had requested a release of Ervebo vaccines from the global Ebola virus disease vaccine stockpile, managed by the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision.

The Ervebo vaccine is licensed for use against Ebola virus, one of the viruses that cause Ebola disease, but not for Bundibugyo virus.

Over 5,000 people have contracted the disease and 2,420 have died in an epidemic that is already the deadliest in the country’s history, hitting communities displaced by war

Over 5,000 people have contracted the disease and 2,420 have died in an epidemic that is already the deadliest in the country’s history, hitting communities displaced by war

The outbreak raging in six provinces in eastern Congo has infected and killed more people at a greater speed than any other Ebola outbreak in history.

Congo will receive 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, which has been effective in past Ebola outbreaks, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners said Thursday, announcing a step seen as a major boost to efforts to contain what officials have described as the fastest Ebola outbreak in history.

Congo has recorded 2,476 confirmed deaths, giving the outbreak a case-fatality rate of 47.5 per cent.

He described it as the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded and the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak to date.

Poverty, refugee displacement, child labour and militia violence are exacerbating the challenge of health workers to limit this deadly contagious disease. CONSTANT SAME BAGALWA and MARK BANCHEREAU report