Authorities believe there may be many more cases still unknown and that the peak of the outbreak is yet to occur in the country.
The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDCongo) raised the number of deaths due to the Ebola virus to 254, being included in the 1,003 confirmed cases, in the epidemic that was declared on May 15 in the east of the country.
Congo’s Ministry of Health, in a statement released on Sunday night, said a total of 100 people have recovered from the disease, which has been concentrated in Ituri province since the epidemic was declared.
Congolese authorities previously said that 245 people had died and that there were 933 confirmed cases of Ebola virus infection.
This Ebola epidemic, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no vaccines or treatment, was the worst ever recorded in its first month.
Authorities admit that there may be many more cases still unknown and that the peak of the outbreak is yet to happen in the country.
Contact tracing remains a crucial issue for local authorities, which has reached a coverage rate of just 55%, the Congolese ministry reported.
Authorities also have not yet identified patient zero in the outbreak and need to trace more than 35,000 people who had contact with infected individuals as of last week, officials said.
The epidemic also spread to neighboring Uganda, where 19 confirmed cases were detected, including 14 cases considered imported from DRCongo, with two deaths.
The WHO estimates that the virus began circulating in Ituri about two months before the outbreak was declared and classified the epidemic on May 17 as a “public health emergency of international importance.”
The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people or animals and causes severe hemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea and internal bleeding.
