The mortality rate from the Ebola virus has exceeded 50 percent
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the number of people infected with the Ebola virus has reached 10.4 thousand, and the number of those who died has reached 5.4 thousand. The mortality rate from the disease stands at 51.6 percent.
Ebola virus death rate exceeds 50 percent
The number of people infected with Ebola hemorrhagic fever in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached 10.4 thousand, of whom nearly 5.4 thousand have died. Bloomberg reported this, citing the country's Ministry of Health. The mortality rate from Ebola reached 51.6 percent.
DRC officials assess the current outbreak of Ebola as the deadliest and most large-scale in the country's history. Although the majority of those infected and deceased are in the DRC, cases of the virus have also been recorded in Uganda, Kenya, and France.
The main epicenter of the disease remains the DRC's Ituri province — the majority of infection cases occur in this specific region.
Despite this, Ebola is not considered the deadliest virus. For example, rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, and during certain outbreaks of the Marburg virus, the mortality rate reached 80-90 percent. However, a high mortality rate does not mean that the risk to the population is equally high: such viruses are difficult to transmit from person to person, and their spread can be quickly contained. Overall, viruses with low mortality rates but high contagiousness, such as the flu and COVID-19, claim the most human lives.