The recent Ebola virus outbreak in Africa has caused at least 5,376 casualties, the overwhelming majority in the Democratic Republic of Congo ( The RDK, while over 10,000 people have been infected since May.
According to the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the virus has spread to other parts of the continent. The agency has confirmed to the AFP that of the total number of victims, 5,372 were registered in the RDK, while from two in Kenya and Uganda.
According to the latest reports by the Congolese authorities, published on October 31st, the explosion has infected more than 10,000 people and has a mortality rate of over 50 percent. This makes it the Ebola epidemic with the fastest and wider spread recorded so far.
Uganda, a neighbouring country of the Democratic Republic of Congo, had recorded 20 cases, almost all of those who had travelled from the RDK, before the country was declared free from Ebola in August.
Meanwhile, in October, Kenya reported nine cases of infection, marking the first time that the country confirmed cases of the Ebola virus, it broadcast Telegraph.
In the same month, Nigeria, the country with the largest population in Africa, reported a case to a 42-year-old Swiss woman whose husband works at his country’s embassy in Abuja. The couple had traveled to Uganda before returning home.
The current outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is still no vaccine or approved treatment. It is transmitted through contact with the body fluids of infected persons and can cause bleeding fever.
Meanwhile, recent weeks have begun clinical trials for the Ervebo vaccine, which has proved effective against the most common version of Ebola virus, known as Zaire. However, this vaccine is not approved for protection against the Bugibugyo variant that is causing the current explosion. /Telegraphy/