Half of Ebola deaths in DR Congo occurred in last 20 days, says UN official

Half of the 2,500 Ebola deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo occurred in the last 20 days as the outbreak spreads rapidly across an area the size of France, the UN Senior Coordinator for Ebola in DR Congo, Julien Harneis, said at a press conference in Geneva. Harneis said additional resources are urgently needed to bring the outbreak under control. According to him, the Ebola outbreak is occurring in a region that has been affected by armed conflict for 30 years, with high humanitarian needs. The National Institute of Public Health of DR Congo reported on Thursday that the number of confirmed Ebola cases had risen to 5,208, with 2,476 deaths recorded. The Ebola outbreak, declared on 15 May, differs from most previous outbreaks because there is no approved vaccine or treatment for the new pathogen type known as Bundibugyo.