DR Congo’s Ebola cases surge past 10,000 as officials race to slow spread across Africa

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen above 10,000, government data showed on Tuesday. The latest situation report from the public health institute put the number of cases at 10,060.

The DRC has recorded more than 4,600 deaths since it declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in May. The virus has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the last 50 years.

DRC neighbour Uganda was declared Ebola-free in August by WHO after 20 cases, including two deaths.

Other sites are in Kenya, where two people have died, and Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country, reported its first case in a woman who arrived in the capital, Abuja, on a flight from Uganda.

Meanwhile, DRC health officials last Friday launched a trial of a new Ebola vaccine as the struggle to contain the fast-spreading epidemic continues, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

The first participants in a new vaccine trial, known as Tumaini, which means hope in Swahili, were vaccinated in Ituri’s provincial capital, Bunia, the WHO Africa regional office said.

The trial is being guided by scientific rigor, transparency, ethical principles, informed consent, as well as community engagement, according to the WHO.