Kinshasa: The Ebola epidemic has claimed more than 300 lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a little over one month after it was declared, health authorities said on Friday.
The deadly viral disease, which spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids, can cause severe bleeding and organ failure.
A total of 304 people in the DRC have now died of the virus, from 1,115 confirmed infections since the outbreak was detected on May 15, giving a mortality rate of 26.3 percent, the National Public Health Institute (INSP) said.
This is a jump from the 202 deaths confirmed on June 18 by the African Union's health agency, from 875 confirmed infections -- a mortality rate of 23 per cent.
The Red Cross warned last week that the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever has yet to peak and could take up to a year to contain.
In some rare good news, the DRC authorities announced in early June that several Ebola patients had been treated and cured.
Responders to the epidemic, the 17th to hit the vast, unstable central African country, face towering challenges.
No approved vaccines or treatments exist for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus responsible for the latest outbreak to hit the DRC, which is one of the world's poorest countries.
The three affected provinces in eastern DRC — Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu — have been plagued for three decades by conflict and mass displacement, complicating the response. — AFP
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