Eastern Congo Ebola Outbreak Reaches 1,003 Cases and 254 Deaths, with 100 Recoveries

Confirmed Ebola cases in eastern Congo reached 1,003 as of June 22, including 254 deaths, Congo’s Ministry of Health reported. One hundred people have recovered and 365 remain in hospitals or isolation. The outbreak, concentrated in Ituri province and caused by the Bundibugyo virus strain, was declared on May 15.

Contact tracing stands at 55 percent. Authorities have not identified patient zero and have not traced more than 35,000 people who came into contact with infected individuals as of last week. Dr. Jean Kaseya, Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General, said last week that without the index case officials lack confidence on when the outbreak began.

Attacks by the Islamic State group-backed Allied Democratic Force have cut off access to many villages in Ituri, forcing residents into overcrowded displacement camps. At the Kigonze camp in Bunia, which houses more than 20,000 people, camp officials reported 10 deaths last week in unusual circumstances. No Ebola case has been confirmed at the site.

The U.N. refugee agency said at least 2 million displaced people, including more than 320,000 refugees, live in areas at risk. Charité Banza, a civil society leader in Ituri, stated on Friday that an epidemic at the Kigonze site would be a catastrophe given already precarious conditions.