What is Ebola and why is the outbreak in DRC causing so much concern?

Strain of virus with no vaccine has potential to overrun response impeded by conflict and misinformation Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are losing their battle to contain the country’s deadliest Ebola outbreak. DRC’s health ministry declared an outbreak in Ituri province on 15 May, though sequencing shows it had begun in February. It has since spread to five other provinces and is on track to overtake the 2014-16 west Africa outbreak as the largest in history. As of Sunday, 2,325 people had died and the number of confirmed cases stood at 4,945, according to DRC government data. “Ebola is winning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” the UN humanitarian affairs chief, Tom Fletcher, said on Friday. “We cannot let the virus outrun our response.” Neighbouring Uganda, which recorded 20 cases and two deaths, was declared Ebola-free on 28 July. Ebola is a highly contagious and often fatal disease. Caused by different viruses mostly associated with fruit bats, the infection often results in viral haemorrhagic fever. More than 40 outbreaks have been documented since it first emerged in 1976. This is the 17th outbreak in DRC. Outbreaks result from zoonotic spi