Ebola cases jump as Congo tightens travel rules

The number of confirmed ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo reached 1,155 on Thursday, government data showed.

Health officials said increased epidemiological surviellance was helping to detect cases earlier. They also said that community spread of the virus had grown.

Contact tracing remains a key issue for local authorities, who have only achieved a 55% coverage rate, the health ministry has said.

Officials admit there could be far more cases they still don’t know about and that the peak of the outbreak is still ahead.

More than 35,000 people are believed to have come in contact with infected individuals as of last week.

The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccines or treatment. The World Health Organization has said experimental treatments will begin next week.

More than 300 people have died and about 100 recovered in the outbreak concentrated in Congo's Ituri province.

The country has tightened travel rules after a doctor who flew from Kinshasa tested positive for Ebola on arrival in France.

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