Thousands die as DR Congo faces fastest growing Ebola outbreak on record

JUST IN: At least 2,011 people have died out of 4,381 confirmed cases in DR Congo's Ebola outbreak, the fastest-growing on record, as rebel conflict, bad roads and health worker strikes over pay block the response.

Two thousand and eleven dead. That's the Ebola toll in DR Congo right now — out of 4,381 confirmed cases, and it's the fastest-growing outbreak ever recorded.

The first thousand deaths took nine weeks. Doubling it took three. These are the treatment centres in the east, where workers in full protective gear are screening whoever they can reach. And that's the problem — rebels control parts of the region, roads are terrible, and health workers have gone on strike because they haven't been paid since May.

The WHO says most new cases are appearing outside monitored contacts, which is their polite way of saying nobody has this under control. There's no vaccine for this strain — Bundibugyo — though trials for the existing shot are being fast-tracked now.

The country's deadliest outbreak killed nearly 2,300. At this pace, this one passes that grim record by the end of September.

This is Kateryna Kovalenko, reporting for HIT.

Source Read the original reporting at france24.com