Ebola Toll Reaches 3,577 Deaths Among 7,404 Cases as Ituri Transmission May Be Peaking

DRC's Ebola (Bundibugyo virus) outbreak reached 7,404 confirmed cases and 3,577 deaths as of Sept 15 data — a case-fatality rate of 48.3%, with 1,776 patients recovered — across 62 health zones in 7 provinces. Ituri remains the epicenter with 77.7% of cases, though National Institute of Biomedical Research director Jean-Jacques Muyembe said the province's transmission curve 'has reached a peak and is beginning to decrease.' North Kivu's weekly case count nearly doubled over two weeks, from roughly 100 to more than 200, with isolation-bed occupancy at 94.7%. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the epidemic 'continues to progress and continues to claim lives,' while epidemic-response director Maria Van Kerkhove said the response remains 'far from finished.'