Ebola death toll in Africa surpasses 1,000

Kathmandu. The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in Africa has exceeded 1,000. According to the latest figures released by the health authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, the death toll from Ebola in both countries has risen to 1,001.

According to a status report released by Congo’s health ministry on Wednesday, there were 2,473 confirmed cases of Ebola in the country as of Monday. Of them, 999 have died.

Uganda has reported 20 confirmed cases and two deaths. At the same time, the total number of deaths in both countries has reached 1,001. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, began on May 15 in the DRC’s eastern Ituri province. After that, it has spread to North Kivu, South Kivu, Haute-Ouelle and Chôpo provinces.

On May 17, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda a “public health emergency of international concern”.

As of Monday, 737 patients were being treated in hospitals or isolation, while 482 had recovered, according to the DRC’s health ministry. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva on July 16 that the outbreak was the third largest outbreak in history and that the spread in the past month had been faster than any previous outbreak.

This is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC since the Ebola virus was first identified in 1976. Uganda’s last confirmed case of Ebola was discharged from a hospital on July 16, triggering a 42-day quarantine period needed to declare an end to the outbreak, the WHO said.

According to the WHO, if there is no confirmed new case for 42 consecutive days from the date of the last infected person’s recovery, discharge, or death, the outbreak ends, the country can declare the Ebola outbreak over.