Ebola cases 'increased rapidly' since late May, WHO says
The number of Ebola infections and deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda has “increased rapidly” since late May, the World Health Organization said Monday.
Since the last update from the WHO on May 29, an additional 390 confirmed cases including 74 confirmed deaths were reported. The increase in cases -- more than tripling the prior confirmed count -- is in part due to better testing and diagnosis abilities, the WHO said.
Cases continue to be reported in various parts of the DRC across 25 health zones, with some infections hundreds of miles away from the epicenter of the outbreak in the Ituri province.
The outbreak remains concentrated there.
As of June 6, there are a total of 515 confirmed cases and 91 deaths in the DRC. So far, 12 patients have recommended recovered there.
Over 5,000 people have been identified as contacts due to exposure from someone who was infected. Contact tracing efforts continue to be underway.
At least 16 of the infections reported so far were identified in health care workers.
Uganda has 19 confirmed cases as of June 6, an increase of 10 since the last update on May 29.
While the WHO assesses the risk of transmission in the Congo as "very high" and "high" in bordering countries, the risk to the rest of Africa and the world is "low."
