DRC's Ebola outbreak surpasses 800 cases

On 1 August last year, the World Health Organization officially declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Since then (as of 9 February 2019), there have been 811 cases of the disease - 750 confirmed and 61 probable - resulting in 510 deaths - 449 confirmed and 61 probable. These figures make it the second-largest outbreak of the virus in history.

According to a press release by Save The Children, of the deaths, 97 were children, 65 of which were under 5 years of age. Commenting on the crisis, Save the Children’s Country Director in DRC, Heather Kerr, said: “We are at a crossroads...If we don’t take urgent steps to contain this, the outbreak might last another six months, if not the whole year. The DRC is a country suffering from violence and conflict and an extreme hunger crisis—some 4.6 million children are acutely malnourished. The main concerns for many people are safety and making sure they have enough to eat. But Ebola has to be a priority too."