Eastern Congo records more than 300 Ebola deaths in a week as outbreak tops 5,500 cases

Ministry data as of Saturday recorded 5,514 confirmed Ebola cases.

Later official tallies put confirmed cases at 5,515.

The outbreak had recorded 2,642 deaths.

Experts say the outbreak could be about three times the known size, with only about 30 to 40 percent of cases detected.

Health authorities describe this as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record.

WHO said transmission is outpacing control efforts and requires a substantial scale-up.

The outbreak is now the deadliest Ebola epidemic in DRC history.

Many people are dying of Ebola outside treatment centres.

Community deaths accounted for around 60 percent of about 260 weekly fatalities over the past six weeks.

The 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak killed more than 11,000 people and remains the deadliest on record.

Ituri province is the epicentre of the outbreak.

Ituri accounts for about 85 percent of cases and 79 percent of deaths.

Nearly half of people infected have died, a case fatality rate of about 47.9 percent.

There is no approved vaccine or treatment for Bundibugyo virus, the strain causing the outbreak.

Congo received more than 16,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine on Friday.

It is not known whether Ervebo protects against Bundibugyo; early laboratory and animal data suggest some protection.

WHO has pledged or expects 70,000 Ervebo doses, with more batches due.

DRC authorities declared the outbreak in May; 100 days have now passed.

Contact follow-up rose from 9 percent in the first week to 84 percent as of 18 August.

Armed conflict, displacement, attacks on health facilities, unpaid responders, bad roads and misinformation have hampered the response.

Pope Leo called for international action to help contain the outbreak and save lives.

A daily average of around 90 confirmed cases was recorded in the first three months, higher than 2014-16 West Africa and 2018-20 DRC at that stage.

The outbreak has expanded to a sixth province.

Laboratory capacity has expanded from one testing site to 19 laboratories able to process more than 3,000 samples a day.

Treatment capacity has grown from fewer than 10 beds to more than 1,300.

Over 900 health facilities have received infection-prevention support.

Community engagement activities have reached more than 2.5 million people.

Clinical trials of treatments, evaluation of candidate vaccines, and a molecular diagnostic test for Bundibugyo virus are underway.

WHO has deployed over 260 experts and more than 330 tonnes of supplies.

WHO said a halt in fighting is also needed for health teams to reach communities.

WHO said the coming months will be critical to closing gaps and containing the outbreak.

Preparedness in neighbouring countries is being reinforced through cross-border collaboration and surveillance.