DRC Ebola Deaths Surpass 1,500

The Democratic Republic of Congo has now recorded more than 1.500 deaths as a result of the current Ebola outbreak, which began in August 2018.

Official figures from the ministry of health put the number of cases recorded with 2,239 and the number of deaths at 1,506 as of Sunday.

Efforts to tackle the spread of the disease have been hampered by violence and militia activity in the affected areas of Ituri and North Kivu.

The fatalities make it the second most deadly outbreak on record, after the 2014 outbreak in West Africa which killed more than 11,300.

Earlier this month three Ugandans returning from the DRC who had contracted the disease and died. More than 37,000 Congolese refugees are estimated to have crossed the border into Uganda since the beginning of 2018. While those crossing official border posts are screened for Ebola, many unmarked entry points exist.