DRC Ebola Cases Hit 5,515 as Pope Leo Urges Global Action
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 23
DRC Ebola Cases Hit 5,515 as Pope Leo Urges Global Action
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 23
Summary
5,515 confirmed Ebola cases and 2,642 deaths have now been recorded in the DRC, with 51 new infections reported in Ituri and North Kivu.
Nearly 48% of infected people are now dying, up from about 20% in early June, even as contact tracing improved from 30% to more than 85%.
16,250 doses of the Ervebo vaccine arrived on Friday, but there is no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain driving this outbreak.
Armed conflict, displacement, attacks on medical teams and weak infrastructure have slowed containment; about 160 health workers have been infected and 45 have died.
Pope Leo called for an international response involving local communities, while WHO says the DRC response must be scaled up two- to threefold despite global risk remaining low.
Uganda quickly stopped the deadly virus, so why is the neighboring DRC struggling to contain the largest Ebola outbreak in its history?
With no approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain, can experimental treatments outpace a deadly virus spreading rapidly through active conflict zones?
As Pope Leo XIV pleads for aid, will global donors risk sending millions into regions where armed conflict actively blocks medical interventions?