This year’s Ebola outbreak has spread faster than the worst on record

What the report says

ABC News, carrying an Associated Press report by Chinedu Asadu, reported that the current Ebola outbreak in Congo has surpassed 1,000 deaths a little more than two months after it was declared on May 15. Citing Congo’s Ministry of Health, the report said that as of Tuesday the outbreak had 2,536 confirmed cases and 1,033 deaths.

The pace is the central concern. The AP compared the current outbreak with the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic, which is regarded as the worst on record, noting that the earlier crisis took about eight months from its first recorded case to pass 1,000 deaths. That epidemic ultimately involved more than 28,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths. The current outbreak has also reached roughly 2,500 cases much faster than the 2014-2016 event.

According to the report, this outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo virus, one of the Ebola-causing viruses identified by the World Health Organization. The article said there are no approved vaccines or treatments for this rare variant. The outbreak is mainly concentrated in five eastern Congolese provinces near Uganda, with limited spread beyond Congo, including some cases in Uganda.

Officials cited in the AP report said many deaths are linked to patients seeking care late. The current case fatality rate was reported at about 40%, lower than the 66% fatality rate cited for the 2014-2016 outbreak. However, officials warned the peak may still lie ahead because the initial patient has not been identified, many new infections are outside monitored contact lists, and there were delays in determining the virus variant.