Overview
- The Institute of Public Health reported Wednesday that data compiled to Nov. 9 show 11,042 confirmed infections and 5,387 deaths, a reported case fatality rate of 48.8 percent.
- The epidemic is concentrated in Ituri and North Kivu but has reached eight provinces and 67 health zones across the country.
- Health responders say late detection, limited access to care and deaths occurring outside treatment centers have hindered containment and left communities at high risk.
- The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, which has no approved targeted treatment; the DRC is using Ervebo in vaccination campaigns while the World Health Organization has begun phase 1 trials of two Bundibugyo-specific vaccine candidates.
- The outbreak has produced linked cases in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and France and prompted medical evacuations to European hospitals, underscoring both regional spread and the months-long work needed to validate vaccines for this strain.