DR Congo Ebola death toll surpasses 1,300

The death toll from the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached 1,354, according to official statistics. The number of deaths has risen by more than 40 percent in just five days.

Government data published on Saturday showed that confirmed Ebola cases, including deaths, have reached 3,075, which is 27 percent higher than the previous Saturday.

The virus spreading in DR Congo is the Bundibugyo strain, one of the four known Ebola species that infect humans. There is currently no vaccine or treatment available for this strain.

Public health consultant Abdulsalami Nasidi told Al Jazeera that the absence of a vaccine is causing the virus to spread "like wildfire."

He added that the outbreak is occurring in active conflict zones, which further complicates the already limited public health capacity of the local government.

Scientists are working to control the epidemic. The Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford said a volunteer received the first dose of an experimental vaccine on Friday.

Lead researcher Katrina Pollock said it is an important milestone for the trial and marks the next step in our multinational efforts to develop a vaccine for the Bundibugyo Ebola virus.

It may be noted that a new Ebola outbreak emerged in eastern DR Congo and Uganda on May 15. The current epicentre is Ituri province in DR Congo, though the infection has already spread to five provinces in the country.

Earlier, the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history occurred in West Africa between 2013 and 2016, in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where approximately 11,000 people died out of 28,000 infected. Experts are closely monitoring the trajectory of the current outbreak in comparison.

Source: Al Jazeera