DRC health minister warns ‘very high’ Ebola lethality rate as toll hits 80

Africa CDC concerned that outbreak of Bundibugyo strain could spread rapidly due to intense population movement.At least 80 deaths have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) new Ebola disease outbreak, authorities said, as health workers race to intensify screening and contact tracing to contain the disease.Nearly 250 suspected cases of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever have been recorded in eastern DRC, according to the health ministry, with one death also reported in neighbouring Uganda. This has raised concerns that the disease could spread to neighbouring countries.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3The class politics of modern outbreakslist 2 of 3Virus hunters: The scientists tracking deadly diseases in tough conditionslist 3 of 3Health officials raise alarm over new Ebola outbreak in DR Congoend of list“The Bundibugyo strain has no vaccine, no specific treatment,” DRC’s Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said on Saturday.“This strain has a very high lethality rate, which can reach 50 percent.”The outbreak, the country’s seventeenth, was confirmed on Friday in the northeastern province of Ituri, which borders Uganda and South Sudan. At the time, 65 suspected deaths had been confirmed; the toll was raised to 80 on Saturday.According to Kamba, the suspected patient zero was a nurse who reported to a health facility in the provincial capital, Bunia, on April 24, with symptoms suggesting Ebola.The disease has so far been confirmed in three health zones in Ituri, including Bunia, and the areas of Rwampara and Mongwalu, where the outbreak is concentrated.Only 13 blood samples have been tested at the National Institute of Biomedical Research; eight tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain. The remaining five could not be analysed due to insufficient sample volume, the health minister said.‘Extremely concerning’The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has raised concerns that the outbreak could spread rapidly, citing several factors, including the high population density of towns in Ituri and the close proximity of the affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan.