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

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 said earlier an Ebola case had been detected in South Ubangi province, located in the northwest of the country, far from the epicentre of the outbreak.

They said a 23-year-old man who had died on Tuesday tested positive for the Bundibugyo species.

He left South Kivu province in eastern Congo on July 10 and spent time abroad before re-entering Congo and arriving in South Ubangi, which borders Congo Republic and Central African Republic.

"Contact tracing for the first confirmed case in South Ubangi province is underway," Congo's public health institute said in its latest situation report.

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