Congo Ebola Cases Top 800, Killing Nearly 200 as Rare Bundibugyo Strain Evades Detection
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Jun 17
Congo Ebola Cases Top 800, Killing Nearly 200 as Rare Bundibugyo Strain Evades Detection
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Jun 17
Summary
More than 800 confirmed Ebola cases and nearly 200 deaths have now been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a month after WHO declared the outbreak a public health emergency.
The Bundibugyo strain helped fuel the surge because most tests initially failed to detect it, while the strain still has no approved vaccine or treatment.
Fewer than 60% of known contacts have been traced, laboratories are backlogged, and overcrowded displacement camps in conflict-hit eastern Congo are raising fears of faster spread in coming weeks.
Attacks on treatment centers and deep local mistrust have further disrupted the response; one facility was burned last month, sending 18 patients fleeing.
The U.S. has pledged $270 million in response aid and is seeking another $50 million for medical countermeasures, but weakened CDC staffing and aid cuts have raised doubts about sustained containment.