Ebola outbreak death toll passes 5,300, Africa CDC says

More than 5,300 people have now died in the latest Ebola outbreak, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo recording almost all of the fatalities, according to data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

The DRC declared its 17th – and largest – Ebola outbreak in mid-May, and it remains the epicentre of the current wave. The Bundibugyo strain of the virus, which is responsible for the current spread, has infected around 10,444 people across the DRC, Uganda and Kenya, with a death rate above 50 percent.

Africa CDC figures released on Monday put the regional death toll at 5,376: 5,372 in the DRC, two in Kenya and two in Uganda. The virus has crossed international borders several times in recent months. Uganda recorded 20 cases, almost all among people who had travelled from the DRC, before being declared Ebola-free in August. Kenya reported its first recorded Ebola cases in October, with two deaths and nine infections.

In Nigeria, health authorities said two rounds of testing on two suspected cases in the country's northeast came back negative. Abuja reported its first imported Ebola case in October – the first in more than a decade – but has recorded no deaths. France reported a single case in July involving a health worker who had returned from the DRC.

There are currently no approved treatments or vaccines for the rare Bundibugyo strain, which differs from the more common Zaire strain. However, clinical trials have begun in recent weeks with the Ervebo vaccine, which has proved effective against the Zaire strain.