DRC: Ebola virus has infected more than 3,000 people and has left 2,231 dead since 2018

Since the start of the epidemic, the cumulative number of cases recorded has been 3,373, with a total of 2,231 deaths, according to the latest count by the Multi sectoral Committee for Response to the Epidemic (CMRE) published on Saturday 28 December.

The DRC is fighting an epidemic of Ebola virus disease declared on August 1, 2018.  The troubled provinces of Nord Kivu and Ituri, in the east, are the most affected. Health officials also say that "341 suspected cases are under investigation."

Insecurity and epidemic

Disease control efforts are regularly disrupted due to insecurity caused by the presence of numerous militias in the affected areas. Members of anti-Ebola teams have been killed or injured in armed attacks in Nord Kivu and Ituri.

Since November, more than 200 civilians have been killed in this area in killings attributed to ADF, the Ugandan armed group (Allied Democratic Forces).

Corneille Kinsala N’soki

(CKS/PKF)