The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached 5,515 confirmed cases of infection and killed 2,642 people, with 51 new cases detected in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, according to the latest government figures.
The update came as Pope Leo called for international action to help contain the epidemic, which is now the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the DRC's history.
Declared in mid-May, it is the DRC's 17th Ebola epidemic and was designated a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization (WHO), its highest alert level, also covering neighbouring Uganda.
The outbreak is now on track to surpass the deadliest Ebola epidemic on record, which was the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people.
At the Vatican on Sunday, Pope Leo called for global action to help save lives.
"I urge the international community to respond in a way that also involves local communities in prevention efforts to save as many lives as possible," he said. (Agencies)
Source: Qatar Tribune
