The death toll from the latest Ebola outbreak in Africa has passed 5,300. Data released on Monday by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) show 5,376 deaths: 5,372 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and two each in Kenya and Uganda.
The DRC is the epicentre, having declared its 17th and largest Ebola outbreak in mid-May. The outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo strain, which has infected about 10,444 people across the DRC, Uganda and Kenya, with a death rate above 50 percent.
The virus has crossed borders several times in recent months. Uganda recorded 20 cases, almost all among people who had travelled from the DRC, before being declared Ebola-free in August. Kenya recorded its first-ever Ebola cases in October, with nine infections and two deaths. In Nigeria, two rounds of tests on two suspected cases came back negative.
There are no approved treatments or vaccines for the rare Bundibugyo strain. Clinical trials have recently begun with the Ervebo vaccine, which has proved effective against the more common Zaire strain.