The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recorded more than 5,000 deaths and more than 10,000 infections in its Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, which has reached eight of the country's 26 provinces.
Government data showed the death toll had passed 5,000 on Friday. The outbreak, declared in May, has infected more than 10,000 people.
The Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or treatment. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said participants had been vaccinated in Bunia in the DRC-led Tumaini trial, which tests vaccine candidates against the strain.
Al Jazeera linked the faster spread to delays in detecting cases, conflict and strained health services. Cases have also been reported in Kenya and Uganda. Nigeria became the fourth African country to report a case last week.
Saudi Arabia on Friday suspended its citizens' travel to Kenya and barred entry from the country, the Saudi Press Agency said. The order also pauses visas for travelers from Kenya and bars entry to people who stayed in Kenya or another affected country within the previous 21 days, including those arriving through a third country.
Al Jazeera described the current outbreak as the second largest on record. Only the 2014-16 epidemic in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone was larger, with more than 28,600 cases and more than 11,000 deaths. The current outbreak is the deadliest Ebola epidemic recorded in the DRC.
On Oct. 19, the DRC's National Institute of Public Health had counted 9,637 confirmed cases and 4,646 deaths. The institute's figures are detailed in EconoTimes' earlier report on the outbreak toll.
