health
Ebola virus behind massive outbreak in DRC could be mutating, officials say
Cases have passed 4,000 and health watchdog plans to go door to door to find patients in major response escalation
TL;DR
- Confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have exceeded 4,000.
- Health officials are concerned the virus may be mutating due to the outbreak's unprecedented severity.
- The response is being escalated with plans for door-to-door searches to identify patients.
- Contact tracing is insufficient, with only 10 contacts identified per patient on average.
- The outbreak is the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record.
- Over two-thirds of deaths are occurring in the community.
- Plans include studying the use of remdesivir and testing the Ervebo vaccine.
- Essential healthcare is being disrupted, with a significant drop in childhood vaccinations.