KINSHASA, July 22 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Africa surpassed 1,000 on Wednesday, according to the latest figures released by health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
The DRC Ministry of Health said in its latest situation report released on Wednesday that the country had recorded 2,473 confirmed Ebola cases, including 999 deaths, as of July 20.
Uganda has reported 20 confirmed cases, including two deaths, bringing the combined death toll in the two affected countries to 1,001.
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, was declared on May 15 in Ituri Province in eastern DRC before spreading to the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo.
According to the DRC Ministry of Health, 737 patients were in isolation or receiving hospital treatment as of July 20, while 482 had recovered.
Speaking at a press conference in Geneva on July 16, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak became the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record, and in the past month, it has expanded faster than any previous outbreak.
The current outbreak is the DRC's 17th since the Ebola virus was first identified in the country in 1976.
Tedros also said Uganda's last confirmed Ebola patient was discharged on July 16, starting the mandatory 42-day countdown to the end of that country's outbreak.
Speaking at an African Union health summit in Accra, Ghana, on Tuesday, Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Jean Kaseya warned that the outbreak could become one of the worst Ebola epidemics ever recorded if it is not brought under control swiftly.
Kaseya called for stronger political commitment, sustainable health financing and African-led public health emergency response systems. He added that funding needs for the Ebola response have surged from an estimated 518 million U.S. dollars in June to 1.4 billion dollars, underscoring the escalating scale of the outbreak. ■
