The number of laboratory-confirmed cases of Ebola fever in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached 5,515. This was reported by TASS, citing the Ministry of Health of the African country.
The agency reported that 51 new cases of the disease were detected over the past day.
The death toll is 2,642. The mortality rate is 47.9%.
More than 700 people are in hospitals and medical isolation centers with suspected Ebola. The level of contact tracing of Ebola cases is 85.5%.
The outbreak, which began on May 15 in the DRC and Uganda, has already become the second deadliest in Africa in the entire history of observing this disease. The disease has now been reported in six provinces in the DRC, with the epicenter in Ituri province. Ugandan authorities declared the country's Ebola outbreak over on July 28.
The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, against which a vaccine is currently in clinical trials. The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a public health emergency of international concern.
