More than 400 people have died in an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, AFP reported on Thursday, citing government figures.
The National Institute of Public Health (INSP) said at least 438 people have died and 1,406 have been infected since the outbreak was declared on May 15. The case fatality rate stands at just over 31 percent.
The virus has now reached Kisangani, a major city of approximately 1.5 million people and the capital of Tshopo province, located about 600 kilometers from the epicenter. The INSP said a test on the body of a 24-year-old pregnant woman came back positive for Ebola. Health authorities said her body had been secretly transported by motorcycle from the Nia-Nia health zone in Ituri province to Kisangani.
Bodies of Ebola victims remain highly contagious, and the virus has frequently spread during burial or funeral rites.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no vaccine or specific treatment exists. Clinical trials for potential vaccines are expected to begin soon.
Ituri province in the northeast has accounted for more than 83 percent of all Ebola deaths. The outbreak has also spread to the neighboring North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. Officials said determining the true extent of the outbreak has been extremely difficult.
Six strains of Ebola have been identified: Zaire, Sudan, Bundibugyo, Reston, Tai Forest, and Bombali. The Zaire strain has caused the most infections since 2014, but the current outbreaks in Congo and Uganda are attributed to the Bundibugyo strain.
Ebola is not airborne. It spreads through direct contact with the blood, saliva, sweat, vomit, or other bodily fluids of an infected person or animal, and can also be transmitted through contaminated needles or clothing.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report