What experts are saying as Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda kills more that 1,000 people

What the report says

Yahoo Entertainment, carrying an Associated Press report from Dakar, said an Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has caused more than 1,000 deaths and is being described as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak recorded. Congo’s public health institute reported Wednesday that there were 2,536 confirmed cases and 1,033 deaths, with at least 738 people hospitalized or in isolation.

The outbreak, declared May 15, is driven by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment. The report said nearly 90% of cases are in remote Ituri province, though infections have also been confirmed in five Congolese provinces, including Kisangani, and in neighboring Uganda. Officials say the pace of new cases may be easing, but the outbreak has not peaked, and contact monitoring remains below the level health authorities say is needed to stop transmission.

The World Health Organization assesses the risk as very high within Congo and high for Uganda and nearby countries, while saying the global risk is low because Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids rather than through the air. Uganda has confirmed 20 cases and two deaths linked to imported infections, and no new cases there have been reported since June 21. A doctor who tested positive in France after travel from Congo has recovered, according to the report.

The response is being complicated by local mistrust, delayed testing, concerns over treatment centers and safe burials, and insecurity in eastern Congo. Researchers have begun a clinical trial in Ituri for possible Bundibugyo treatments, but the WHO said determining whether they work could take months.