The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has passed 5,000, according to government data released on Friday.
Authorities have not yet found a way to control the outbreak, the deadliest of the virus on record in the country. Ebola has infected more than 10,000 people across the nation since the health emergency was declared in May.
The current outbreak is driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain. Health authorities have confirmed that there are no approved treatments or vaccines available to combat this specific strain.
The virus has also crossed international borders to reach neighbouring nations. Nigeria reported an Ebola case last week, becoming the fourth African country to record infections and extending the spread to West Africa. Uganda and Kenya have also reported cases in East Africa.
This epidemic is the second-largest ever recorded globally. The largest remains the 2014 to 2016 epidemic across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed over 11,000.
Governments across the region and beyond have responded by restricting travel or imposing quarantines on visitors from affected areas. Saudi Arabia suspended travel to and entry from Kenya on Friday, as reported by the Saudi Press Agency.
The measures include a travel ban for Saudi citizens visiting Kenya and a halt on issuing all types of visas to travellers from that country. The kingdom also barred entry to individuals arriving from Kenya, including passengers transiting through third countries who spent time in Kenya or other affected nations within the prior 21 days.
Saudi authorities previously suspended travel to and entry from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan in June.
