DR Congo Ebola epidemic passes 5,300 deaths as rare strain spreads

The death toll from an ongoing Ebola epidemic centred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has risen past 5,300, public health officials have confirmed.

Data published by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that 5,376 fatalities have been linked to the crisis across three nations. The vast majority of deaths, totaling 5,372, occurred within the DRC, while Uganda and Kenya have each documented two fatalities.

The epidemic is driven by the Bundibugyo species of the virus, a less common strain against which there are currently no officially approved vaccines or therapeutics. Across the DRC, Kenya, and Uganda, the virus has infected approximately 10,444 individuals, reflecting a case fatality rate exceeding 50 percent, according to Al Jazeera's report on the Africa CDC figures.

The DRC officially declared the current wave in the middle of May, representing the nation's 17th documented occurrence of the illness and its largest on record. In recent months, international transmission has raised alarm across the region. Uganda documented 20 infections, predominantly tied to cross-border travelers from the DRC, though health authorities managed to declare the country clear of the virus in August.

In October, Kenya identified its first-ever documented instances of the disease, registering nine total cases and two deaths. Concerns also prompted testing elsewhere on the continent. Officials in Nigeria investigated two suspected infections in the northeastern part of the country, but two rounds of laboratory analyses returned negative results. Nigeria had previously identified an imported infection in October, marking its first recorded case in over ten years, but has experienced no fatalities. Outside the continent, French authorities documented an infection in July involving a healthcare professional who had returned from the DRC.

Medical professionals and researchers continue efforts to establish medical countermeasures against the pathogen. While the Ervebo vaccine is recognized for shielding against the more common Zaire strain, researchers have recently initiated clinical trials to evaluate its protective capabilities against the Bundibugyo variant.