Ebola Cases in Congo Rise to 6,604

Moscow (ANTARA) - The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has risen to 6,604, with 3,175 deaths reported, according to the Congolese National Institute of Public Health (INSP) on Monday.

“Over the past 24 hours, 82 new cases and 41 deaths have been recorded. The total number of cases since the start of the outbreak has reached 6,604, with 3,175 deaths,” the statement said.

Doctors and humanitarian workers in Ituri and North Kivu, interviewed by the Washington Post, said the official statistics may reflect only a fraction of the true number of cases.

To date, neither a vaccine nor a treatment for the new Bundibugyo strain of Ebola has received official authorisation. However, laboratory data suggest that the Ervebo Ebola vaccine, delivered to the Congo by the World Health Organization (WHO), may provide protection against the disease.

On 20 August, the WHO reported that it had sent 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine to the Congo. The vaccine is intended to protect health workers and for clinical trial purposes.