DR Congo Ebola cases top 10,000 as outbreak spreads across Africa

KINSHASA - The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) said Tuesday that it has reported more than 10,000 confirmed Ebola cases since the outbreak began in May, according to data released Tuesday by the country's health authorities.

The latest report showed that the country had recorded a total of 10,060 confirmed cases, including 4,887 deaths, as of Oct 25, with a case fatality rate of 48.6 percent.

The outbreak has affected 66 health zones across eight of the DRC's 26 provinces.

The eastern province of Ituri remained the epicenter, accounting for 71.7 percent of all confirmed cases, the report said.

The current outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, was declared in the DRC on May 15. It has since spread to five countries, including four in Africa. The other three are Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria. France reported one imported case.

Unlike the more common Zaire strain of Ebola, the Bundibugyo virus has no approved vaccine or specific treatment.

The current Ebola outbreak has become the largest and deadliest ever recorded in the DRC and the second-largest Ebola outbreak globally, after the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic.