Congo Ebola Outbreak Passes 5,000 Deaths, Spreads Across Africa
Written by AI from aljazeera.com's report. Not checked by a person.
The Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak — the deadliest on record for the country — has killed more than 5,000 people out of over 10,000 infected, with cases now confirmed in Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is grappling with the second-largest Ebola epidemic in history. Government data announced on Friday confirmed the death toll has surpassed 5,000, with more than 10,000 people infected since the outbreak was declared in May. The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which no approved treatments or vaccines currently exist. Eight of the DRC's 26 provinces have been affected, and delayed detection, armed conflict and severely strained health services have driven the virus to spread faster than in any previous DRC outbreak. The epidemic has crossed borders: last week Nigeria became the fourth African country to report a case, extending the outbreak's reach into West Africa, while East African nations Kenya and Uganda have also recorded cases. Several countries have imposed travel restrictions in response. Saudi Arabia suspended travel to and from Kenya on Friday, including a ban on issuing visas to Kenyan travellers and a prohibition on entry for anyone who has passed through Kenya or other Ebola-affected countries within the previous 21 days. In June, Saudi Arabia had already imposed similar restrictions on the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan. The current outbreak is surpassed in scale only by the 2014–2016 West African epidemic, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000 across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
