DRC Ebola death toll nears 5,000 as Africa CDC honors fallen doctor

DRC Ebola death toll nears 5,000 as Africa CDC honors fallen doctor - A vaccination site for the Tumaini clinical trial against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus in Bunia, eastern DRC. (Photo: Xinhua)

Three doctors died of Ebola within less than 72 hours at an Ebola treatment centre in Beni, underscoring the risks facing medical personnel battling the outbreak.

The death toll from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is approaching 5,000, according to the latest official report released Friday, as the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) paid tribute to a doctor who died from the disease in the country's conflict-hit east.

The latest situation report from the DRC's National Institute of Public Health (INSP) showed that the country had recorded 10,274 confirmed Ebola cases, including 4,992 deaths, as of October 28, with a case fatality rate of 48.6 per cent. The outbreak has affected 67 health zones across eight of the country's 26 provinces.

Meanwhile, Africa CDC paid tribute on social media platform X to Dr Marie-France Shogogo, who died of Ebola in Beni, North Kivu Province, calling for greater protection of frontline health workers.

"Protect those who protect us," the continental health agency said.

According to local health sources, three doctors died of Ebola within less than 72 hours at an Ebola treatment centre in Beni, underscoring the risks facing medical personnel battling the outbreak.

The Beni health zone reported in total 661 cases, including 443 deaths, with a case fatality rate of 67.0 per cent, according to the INSP report.

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Across North Kivu, a total of 2,391 confirmed cases and 1,341 deaths have been recorded.

The report also highlighted mounting pressure on the province's healthcare system, with Ebola treatment facilities operating at 86.3 per cent capacity and only 82.2 per cent of identified contacts being monitored, below the target of 95 per cent.

The outbreak, declared on May 15 and caused by the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, has become the world's second-largest recorded Ebola outbreak.