The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has surpassed 3,000, according to official figures released on Saturday.
Health authorities reported 3,075 confirmed cases since the latest outbreak began in May, including 1,354 deaths and 556 recoveries. Another 755 patients are currently hospitalised or in isolation.
The epidemic has spread across five provinces, namely Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo.
Speaking on Friday in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province and the outbreak's epicenter, Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka said the government has allocated 50 million U.S. dollars for the response, in addition to funds mobilized by international partners.
However, she acknowledged that the main challenge now lies in ensuring more efficient delivery of logistical resources, including laboratory equipment, water and oxygen supplies, ambulances, hygiene materials, and equipment for safe and dignified burials.
Tuluka said researchers were working to develop a treatment and a vaccine against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, the virus strain responsible for the current outbreak in the DRC.
Expressing hope that a vaccine and treatment could become available "within two to four months," she said the government has provided funding for the research but did not give further details on the development stage or expected approval process.
No vaccine or specific treatment is currently approved for the Bundibugyo strain, though several experimental candidates are undergoing clinical evaluation.
The University of Oxford announced on Friday that the first volunteer has been vaccinated in the world's first human trial of a vaccine, known as ChAdOx1 BDBV, designed to protect against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
DR Congo Ebola cases top 3,000 as vaccine research advances
