Health

Ebola Fatality Ratio in DRC Exceeds 51% After Adding 314 Deaths

By list.metadata.agency

The death rate among confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen above 51% after health authorities added 314 previously unallocated fatalities to the official count. The outbreak now records 10,414 confirmed infections and 5,372 deaths, giving a case‑fatality ratio of 51.6%, according to the National Institute of Public Health’s latest report released Saturday. A review of records in 97% of affected health zones in Ituri, the epidemic’s epicenter, produced the additional deaths, raising the fatality ratio from 48.6% two days earlier while the number of confirmed infections increased by 140. The outbreak has spread to eight provinces and 67 health zones, making it the largest Ebola outbreak in Congo’s history and the largest worldwide since the 2013‑2016 West African epidemic. Transmission has also spilled beyond the country, though it remains limited. Nigeria reported that two suspected cases in Adamawa state tested negative after two rounds of testing, leaving the country with one confirmed infection. The United States announced on Sunday that it will tighten travel restrictions in response to the outbreak: beginning late Tuesday, anyone boarding an international flight to the U.S. must attest that they have not been in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the previous 21 days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Travelers who have been in the country during that period generally will not be allowed to board U.S.‑bound commercial flights.