The Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has continued to spread across eight provinces, with 512 deaths recorded as of November 3, according to the World Health Organization.

The WHO said in its latest disease outbreak update on Saturday that the reported deaths represented a case fatality ratio of 48.7 per cent.

The organisation said active transmission was ongoing in 51 of the 67 health zones affected by the outbreak across the eight provinces.

Although some areas have recorded a slight reduction in cases, the WHO said transmission remained high and sustained in several parts of the country.

It said 512 deaths had been reported since October 21, including 335 deaths recorded within communities and 177 in treatment centres.

The high number of community deaths, particularly among young children, raised concern, with the WHO linking the trend to difficulties in detecting cases early and ensuring timely access to appropriate healthcare.

The organisation said no new cases had been reported in Kenya or Nigeria since its previous disease outbreak update published on October 23.

It, however, stressed the need for continued regional preparedness, particularly through cross-border surveillance, monitoring at points of entry, early identification of cases and coordinated response efforts.

The WHO also disclosed that confirmed cases involving citizens of Switzerland and the United Kingdom had been medically evacuated, while no additional country had reported cases since the previous update.

Despite the ongoing outbreak, the WHO advised against imposing travel or trade restrictions on countries affected by or responding to the disease, saying such measures were not warranted based on the information currently available.