Ebola infections top 7,000 in Congo as virus spreads to new province

DAKAR, Sept 11 - The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Democratic Republic of Congo has passed 7,000, with the virus spreading to a new province, government data showed on Friday.

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, became the largest and deadliest in Congo's history after surpassing the 2018-2020 epidemic.

It is now second only to the 2014-2016 West African outbreak, which infected over 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000 across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Government figures showed late on Friday that the death toll had risen to 3,398, while confirmed cases reached 7,022 across seven provinces.

Officials told Reuters earlier on Friday an Ebola case had been detected in South Ubangi province, located in the northwest of the country, far from the epicentre of the outbreak.

Shortages of trained staff, operational partners and funding are causing a bottleneck in efforts to expand the Ebola response, according to the World Health Organization. REUTERS