Ebola outbreak in DR Congo could become worst in history, Africa CDC warns

DR Congo battles growing Ebola outbreak: Hope emerges amid crisis

The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could become deadlier than the worst outbreak on record, which killed more than 11,000 people, says the head of Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

⁠The ⁠number of confirmed cases in ⁠the country has increased to 837, including 196 deaths, ‌government data showed on Tuesday.

“If we don’t stop the outbreak very soon, it will be worse than what we had in West Africa and eastern DRC,” Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said during a virtual meeting of African leaders and international donors in Burundi on Tuesday.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Kaseya said tens of thousands of people who may have been exposed to Ebola had not yet been traced or contacted.

“The contact tracing is a major indicator and a major issue. We are missing more than 26,000 people, and we don’t know where they are, and we don’t know if they are contaminating other people.”

A ⁠Red Cross official said that the epidemic had not yet peaked in the country.

“We ⁠are afraid that this could last one year to end this disease,” Bruno Michon, operations manager for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said.