DR Congo confirms Ebola cases surpass 7,600 with 3,699 deaths

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 7,672, with 3,699 deaths.

According to the latest report released on Monday by the country’s National Public Health Institute, the overall case fatality rate stands at 48.2 per cent.

It states that 1,879 patients have recovered and 886 people are hospitalised or in quarantine.

The outbreak has now affected 63 health zones in the mostly eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, both Haut and Bas-Uele, Tshopo, and Sud-Ubangi.

Declared in May, it has since become the country's largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic on record and the second-largest globally.

It is unfolding against a complex epidemiological, humanitarian, and security backdrop.

The eastern DRC faces insecurity, highly mobile populations, and the presence of large refugee communities.

While clinical trials are ongoing, there are currently no licensed vaccine or proven treatment for the Bundibugyo strain behind this latest outbreak of the haemorrhagic virus.