WHO Warns Congo's Ebola Outbreak May Become Deadliest on Record

commondreams.org

The World Health Organization warned Wednesday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is on pace to become the deadliest in history, with over 4,400 confirmed cases and 2,000 deaths reported. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the current epidemic is the second-largest ever recorded and is moving faster than any previous outbreak, potentially eclipsing the 2014-2016 West African crisis. He noted 80% of deaths occurred in Ituri province, with many occurring in communities, suggesting unknown transmission chains. Tedros highlighted encouraging progress, including nearly 900 recovered patients and two new vaccines entering phase one safety trials, with promising cross-protection evidence for the Zaire ebolavirus vaccine recommended for phase three trials.


With a significance score of 4.2, this news ranks in the top 5% of today's 33427 analyzed articles.

Get summaries of news with significance over 5.5 (usually ~10 stories per week). Read by 10,000+ subscribers: