The number of confirmed cases of the dangerous Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has surpassed 10 thousand cases, as international concern and warnings over the possibility of the outbreak spreading to neighboring countries and beyond the African continent have increased significantly.
According to the latest statistics from Congo’s public health institute, published by Reuters, 10,060 cases of infection and 4,887 deaths caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus have so far been recorded. Medical reports describe this new wave as the largest and most severe outbreak of the disease in the country’s history.
Meanwhile, the emergence of cases outside Congo has created greater regional concern, with Kenya reporting 9 case and Nigeria reporting a case linked to this wave. At the same time, international authorities are investigating how the spouse of a Swiss diplomat became infected. The spouse has never traveled to Congo, but contracted the virus and has now been transferred to a hospital in Switzerland.
Health organizations warn that preventing a wider catastrophe requires urgently identifying the source of infections, rapid quarantine, close monitoring of contacts, and tightening preventive measures at border crossings.
