5,376 dead in Africa as Congo logs its largest Ebola outbreak

The death toll from the current Ebola outbreak in Africa reached 5,376 on Monday, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The data shows that 5,372 of those deaths occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kenya and Uganda each recorded two deaths.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the center of the outbreak, which began in mid-May. This event marks the 17th Ebola outbreak declared in the country and is the largest to date. The specific variant involved is the Bundibugyo strain, which has infected 10,444 people across the Congo, Uganda, and Kenya. The death rate for these infections stands at more than 50 percent.

The virus has moved across borders during the past several months. Uganda identified 20 cases, nearly all linked to travel from the Congo, before declaring itself Ebola-free in August. In October, Kenya recorded nine infections and two deaths, representing the first confirmed cases in that nation.

Other regions have monitored the spread closely. Health officials in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, tested two suspected cases in the northeast region and found both samples were negative. Nigeria also reported its first imported case in October, the first in over a decade, with no recorded deaths in that instance. France reported one case in July involving a health worker returning from the Congo.

Medical teams are currently working without approved treatments or vaccines for the rare Bundibugyo strain. Clinical trials have recently started using the Ervebo vaccine. This vaccine has shown effectiveness against the more common Zaire strain but is being tested on the current outbreak.