1. How bad is the outbreak?
Congo’s Health Ministry said Thursday that 4,018 people have died among 8,300 cases recorded since the outbreak was declared in eastern Congo on May 15. Authorities say it has become the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history.
2. Is it getting better or worse?
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The picture is mixed. Confirmed cases fell from around 850 cases and 470 deaths a week in mid-July to an average of 490 cases and 230 deaths in September, but Africa CDC said that could reflect insecurity and community noncooperation rather than real progress. The disease has slowed in some areas while accelerating in others, and the World Health Organization says the outbreak is on track to exceed West Africa’s 2014-2016 outbreak, which killed 11,000 people.
3. What is hampering the response?
Health workers in Bunia protested over unpaid wages, with some saying they haven’t been paid for August and September, and front-line workers have struck several times since the outbreak began. A U.N. official said soldiers searching for weapons burned an Ebola-hit displacement camp housing a transit center for infected patients in Kigonze, forcing 19,000 people to flee. Many residents also dismiss Ebola as a hoax and deeply distrust the government, and a Congolese politician was beaten to death this week after defending government outbreak measures.
4. Who is being affected beyond patients?
At least 50 health workers have died after contracting the virus. An aid worker with Doctors Without Borders was infected in Congo and was flown to the Netherlands on Thursday, where the worker was placed in a high-level isolation unit at Leiden University Medical Center.
5. What is being done to contain the virus?
Mobile laboratories are cutting test turnaround from 72 hours to six hours and can be driven to hard-to-reach areas. Authorities also launched a village-centered approach last month that involves working with local leaders to educate people about the virus, though it faces resistance from residents.
For more on this report, read “An Ebola treatment center was burned down as outbreak death toll in Congo passes 4,000” from The Associated Press, published on The Washington Times.
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