KINSHASA, Congo — Congolese authorities say that the number of suspected Ebola cases has eclipsed 900 in the ongoing outbreak in the east of the country.
Congo’s Ministry of Communication, in a Sunday post on X, said that there were 904 suspected cases, including 119 deaths.
Authorities had previously announced more than 700 suspected Ebola cases, mostly in Ituri province, where the outbreak is centered.
The World Health Organization has said that the outbreak now poses a “very high” risk for the Democratic Republic of Congo, but that the risk of the disease spreading globally remains low. Several cases and deaths have been reported in neighboring Uganda.
Arson attacks on Ebola treatment centers in eastern Congo underscore the serious challenges authorities face — including a backlash in local communities — as they try to stem an outbreak of the infectious disease that has been declared a global health emergency.
The burning last week of the centers in two towns at the heart of the outbreak exposed the anger in a region beset by violence linked to armed rebel groups, the displacement of a large number of people, the failure of local government and international aid cuts that experts say have stripped health facilities in vulnerable communities.
“A devastating set of emergencies are converging,” said the nonprofit group Physicians for Human Rights.
Kamale writes for the Associated Press.
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