Ebola Death Toll Surpasses 2,000 in Democratic Republic of Congo
4 sources across 4 countries · Germany · Qatar · Taiwan · United States · 1 of them is linked to a state
Who reported this
- Deutsche Welle
- Al Jazeera
- Taipei Times
- CNN
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.
An outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed more than 2,000 people. Government data indicates there are 4,381 confirmed cases with 2,011 deaths. The current outbreak is the 17th recorded in the country and is described by some officials as the fastest growing on record. The case fatality rate is estimated at 45.9 percent, which is higher than the 39.6 percent rate seen during the 2014 to 2016 West African outbreak.
Health authorities declared the outbreak on May 15, although sequencing suggests transmissions began as early as February. The virus is concentrated in the eastern and northeastern regions, specifically in Ituri Province. To limit the spread, authorities have restricted public gatherings and closed the airport in Ituri. However, the response is complicated by rebel violence, poor road infrastructure, and strikes by healthcare workers over unpaid wages.
There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments specifically for the Bundibugyo strain. The World Health Organization has recommended a full scale human trial of the Ervebo vaccine, which was designed for the Zaire strain, to see if it provides cross protection. Two other potential vaccines are in early clinical trials. Researchers published findings in Nature Medicine suggesting the outbreak began with an animal to human transmission event.
Outlets with a center left lean emphasize the speed of the outbreak and the systemic failures, such as conflict and misinformation, that hinder the response. The center lean outlet focuses more on the technical data and the specific logistical challenges facing health authorities.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- These outlets framed the event as a rapidly accelerating crisis exacerbated by regional conflict and systemic failures.
- Centre
- This outlet framed the event through a lens of medical data and the specific logistical hurdles of the response.
Sources
- Centre-left Al Jazeera: DR Congo Ebola death toll surpasses 2,000
- Centre-left CNN: Congo says 2,000 people have died in history’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak
- Centre Deutsche Welle: Ebola: Over 2,000 dead in DR Congo as virus gathers pace
- Centre-left Taipei Times: Ebola death toll in DR Congo outbreak rises to over 2,000
93% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.