Ebola toll in DRC climbs to over 5,500 cases as Pope calls for global aid

Official figures indicate the DRC's Ebola crisis has reached 5,515 confirmed cases and 2,642 deaths, while 51 additional infections were identified in Ituri and North Kivu provinces. The Bundibugyo variant has driven the case fatality rate up to almost 48 percent, and roughly 160 health workers have become infected, resulting in about 45 deaths among them. Contact tracing has improved markedly, rising from 30 percent to over 85 percent.

The World Health Organization has dispatched 16,250 vaccine doses and called for a two- to threefold increase in response capacity. Pope Leo, speaking from the Vatican, prayed for the victims and asked the international community to engage local communities in prevention efforts.