Ebola death toll in Congo reaches 118 — media reports

According to WHO, as of May 16, eight laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases, 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths had been recorded in Ituri Province in eastern DR Congo. Two confirmed cases, including one death, were also detected in Uganda among people who had recently traveled from DR Congo.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of suspected cases in DR Congo has already exceeded 300, while the death toll has risen to at least 88 people.

At the same time, according to PBS and several other international media outlets, the number of deaths linked to the outbreak has already surpassed 100.

LBC News reported that at least 118 people have died as a result of the virus outbreak in DR Congo. Similar figures were also published by The Times and several other foreign media outlets.

WHO stressed that the real scale of the outbreak could be significantly larger than officially confirmed due to instability in the region, high population mobility and limited epidemiological surveillance capabilities.

The organization also warned about the risk of transmission inside healthcare facilities following reports of several healthcare workers dying with symptoms consistent with viral hemorrhagic fever.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that the World Health Organization had declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern.