Ebola outbreak in DR Congo kills 200 people

November 11 (UPI) – The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo announced Sunday that more than 200 people have died of Ebola since August, making this virus the worst epidemic in the world. History of the country.

In addition to deaths, there were more than 300 confirmed or probable cases.

"In light of these figures, my thoughts and prayers are with hundreds of families in mourning, hundreds of orphans and families who have been exterminated," said Health Minister Orly Ilunga, according to the BBC .

In a status report released on Thursday, the World Health Organization said there had been "substantial progress" in fighting the virus during its fourth month.

"Nevertheless, there is still a difficult road to control the intense transmission in the city of Beni and emerging hot spots in the villages around Beni and Butembo," said the organization, citing security concerns.

The WHO said that there was a high risk of spread of the epidemic in other provinces of the DRC and other countries. Neighboring Uganda has intensified its preparedness activities, including vaccination, in the event of an epidemic.

The strategy in Uganda involves an experimental vaccine, which, according to officials, will not be made public. More than 26,000 people in the DRC have been vaccinated as part of a "ring vaccination" policy in which those who have been in contact with an Ebola patient are vaccinated. People who have been in contact with these people are also vaccinated. This tactic helped to eradicate smallpox in the 1970s.

The previous outbreak, which was under control in July, sickened 53 people and killed 33 people.

The spread of the Ebola virus in the DRC is compounded by the ongoing civil war between militant groups and government forces. The conflict is slowing the efforts of health workers to fight the virus.

The Ebola virus was first identified in Central Africa in 1976. In 2000 and 2001, 574 people were infected and 261 died in Uganda. More than 28,000 people were infected and 11,000 died in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea between 2014 and 2016.