DR Congo Ebola outbreak set to become deadliest on record, WHO warns

BREAKING: DR Congo's Ebola outbreak is set to become the deadliest on record, the WHO warns, on track to eclipse the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic that killed more than 11,000 if it continues at its current pace.

The Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo is on track to become the deadliest ever recorded. That warning came today from the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. More than 2,000 people have died out of over 4,300 recorded cases, and it is moving faster than any Ebola outbreak in history.

It was declared on May 15, but genetic sequencing shows the virus had been circulating since February. This is the rare Bundibugyo strain, and there is no approved vaccine and no approved treatment for it. These pictures show health workers in full protective equipment, disinfecting as they go, in communities many teams still cannot reach because of conflict near the borders with Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.

The WHO's moderate projection has this peaking within six months. The severe one runs a full year. The 2014 West Africa epidemic killed more than 11,000 people. The WHO says this one could pass that toll if access does not improve soon.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.

Source Read the original reporting at aljazeera.com