The death toll from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Africa has climbed past 5,300, with the vast majority of casualties concentrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to reports from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The DRC remains the primary epicenter of the crisis, having declared its 17th and largest-ever Ebola outbreak in mid-May.

Updated figures released by the Africa CDC indicate that the fatality count has reached 5,376, with the overwhelming majority occurring inside the DRC alongside isolated deaths recorded in neighboring Kenya and Uganda. Health officials point out that the current outbreak is being driven by the particularly lethal Bundibugyo strain of the virus, which has infected over 10,000 individuals across the region with a staggering mortality rate exceeding 50 percent.

The pathogen has repeatedly breached international borders over recent months, heightening regional anxiety. Neighboring Uganda previously detected imported cases linked to travelers from the DRC, while Kenya reported its very first domestic infections and fatalities related to the virus. Isolated imported scares have also surfaced further abroad, prompting heightened vigilance among international health authorities.

Compounding the crisis, medical experts note that there are currently no approved vaccines or targeted treatments specifically designed to combat the rare Bundibugyo strain. Nevertheless, authorities have initiated clinical trials in recent weeks involving the Ervebo vaccine, which has previously shown effectiveness against the more common Zaire strain.

Source: www.aljazeera.com