The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday that the Ebola outbreak which began in early September in the Democratic Republic of Congo has so far resulted in 42 deaths out of 64 confirmed cases, noting that the risk of regional spread remains moderate.

Ebola virus is highly contagious and often fatal, despite recent advances in vaccines and treatments, having claimed about 15,000 lives in Africa over the past fifty years.

The country experienced its worst outbreak between 2018 and 2020 with around 2,300 deaths out of 3,500 cases.

The Congolese authorities announced in mid-September the launch of a vaccination campaign after detecting the virus’s return in the Kasai region in central Congo.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a message on the “X” platform that “the number of confirmed cases reached 64, including 42 deaths.”

The organization revealed a response plan aimed at containing the outbreak in Kasai, considering the risk of spread “high” at the national level, moderate in neighboring countries, and low globally.

It pointed out that the worsening situation is due to “lack of protective equipment, incomplete contact tracing, delayed detection, and unsafe burial practices.”

It added that “high population mobility” and reliance on “traditional healers” put “pressure on an already fragile health system, increasing the risk of geographical spread.”

The organization estimated the fatality rate in the current wave at 45.7%, noting that it ranged between 25% and 90% in previous waves.

The new outbreak belongs to the “Zaire” strain of the virus, one of six known strains, three of which have caused major epidemics (Bundibugyo, Sudan, and formerly Zaire).

The “International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision” approved sending about 45,000 additional doses of vaccines to the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to WHO.

Ebola was first discovered in 1976 in Zaire (the former name of the Democratic Republic of Congo). The virus is transmitted through bodily fluids and infected individuals become contagious only after symptoms appear, which include fever, vomiting, bleeding, and diarrhea after an incubation period ranging from two to 21 days.