WHO: Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has a fatality rate of less than 25%

The latest data from the World Health Organization shows that the fatality rate of the Ebola outbreak currently raging in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is less than 25%, which is much lower than that of other outbreaks.

AFP reported that since the outbreak of the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in mid-May, the World Health Organization has recorded over 1,000 suspected and confirmed cases.

According to data released by the World Health Organization on social media on Wednesday (May 27th), as of May 24th, 10 of the deaths had been confirmed as being caused by Ebola infection, while another 223 cases were suspected cases.

The latest data also shows that a death case has been confirmed in the neighboring country of Uganda, and there are six confirmed infection cases.

The latest epidemic report released by the World Health Organization did not provide further explanations. It merely stated that the fatality rate of suspected cases was 24.6%, and that of confirmed cases was 9.8%.

This figure is significantly lower than the fatality rate of the 16 Ebola outbreaks that have occurred since the first outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976.

Previously, most of the epidemics were caused by the Zaire Ebola strain, with a mortality rate typically ranging from 60% to 90%. This is also the only strain for which a vaccine is currently available.

However, the World Health Organization has warned that this virus, which has been spreading secretly for some time, may have a much wider actual transmission range than what is currently known.

This epidemic was caused by the relatively rare Bundibugyo strain. Currently, there are no approved vaccines or treatments available.

Previously, the Democratic Republic of the Congo had experienced two outbreaks caused by this strain, in 2007 and 2012. The fatality rate was approximately 30% to 50%.

However, the Executive Director of the World Health Organization's Emergency Health Response Unit, Mahmoud, explained last week that as cases are identified more quickly and treatment is provided earlier, the fatality rate usually changes during the pandemic and may decrease. "Early referral and early treatment can save lives."