#EbolaUpdate: Congo Ebola outbreak is 2nd largest, 2nd deadliest


The current Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo -- with 426 total cases, including 245 deaths -- is now the second largest and second deadliest in history, according to Thursday's report from the nation's Ministry of Health.
A 2000-01 outbreak in Uganda included 425 cases and caused 224 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. The deadliest outbreak occurred in West Africa in 2014, when the disease killed more than 11,000 people.
"This is a milestone nobody wanted to hit," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic wrote in an email. On average, Ebola -- which causes fever, severe headache and in some cases hemorrhaging -- kills about half of those infected, but case fatality rates in individual outbreaks have varied. The latest outbreak in Congo, which began in August, has a case fatality rate of 57%.
Of the total cases, 379 have been confirmed, and 47 are probable, according to the ministry. An additional 87 suspected cases are under investigation.
On a positive note, 126 patients have recovered, the ministry said.
This is the 10th outbreak since 1976 in Congo, where the virus is endemic, and the second this year.
North Kivu province, which includes the cities Beni, Kalunguta and Mabalako, remains the epicenter of the outbreak, though cases have been reported in neighboring Ituri province, according to WHO. The two provinces are among the most populated in the nation and border Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.
"The risk of the outbreak spreading to other provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as to neighbouring countries, remains very high," WHO said in a statement Thursday.
However, there have been no confirmed cases in Congo's neighbors, Jasarevic said. "All neighboring countries have implemented heightened surveillance and are detecting and investigating alerts and suspected Ebola cases."
CNN

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