According to data released on Tuesday evening by the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo), more than two thousand Ebola cases have been confirmed, resulting in a total of 754 deaths. Currently, 753 individuals remain in isolation or in hospitals, while 366 have recovered.
Contact monitoring in the country, which has over one hundred million inhabitants, remains a major obstacle, with coverage of exposed people reaching only 67%. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported in a statement issued that day that Ebola is spreading in DRCongo at a rate considered 'unprecedented.'
Trish Newport, MSF's emergency coordinator, emphasized that the number of infected individuals is growing, leading more families to lose loved ones, which complicates epidemic control. She stressed the need for 'firmer and coordinated international action to act more quickly and improve access to both Ebola medical care and other essential health services.'
DRCongo, located in Central Africa, has been facing the epidemic caused by the Bundibugyo virus since May. Two months after the start, the spread continues to be faster than health authorities can track, even with an expanded response.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Tuesday that at least 80% of new cases originate from unknown transmission chains. Furthermore, the WHO warned that the true scale of the Ebola epidemic in DRCongo could be 'two to four times' larger than official estimates.
One of the biggest problems is that health authorities have not yet identified the 'patient zero' of the epidemic. Additionally, displacements caused by armed conflicts and movements related to mining complicate the tracing of thousands of people who came into contact with infected individuals.
Chikwe Ihekweazu, WHO's head of health emergencies, reported on Tuesday, after returning from Bunia, in Ituri—the most affected province—that many of the recent deaths occurred in people who never accessed a health center or received medical assistance.
Health professionals in various areas of Ituri are on strike, claiming they have not been paid since the beginning of their work on the epidemic. Containment efforts are also hampered by the absence of approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo virus.
In just two months, this Ebola outbreak, which has evolved into an epidemic, has become the 17th to hit DRCongo, making it the third largest and the fastest growing among all recorded to date.
Officially declared in May in Ituri, a border province with Uganda and South Sudan, the epidemic has spread to Uganda. In this latter country, 20 cases have been confirmed, 15 of which were brought from DRCongo, including two fatalities.
The epidemic is linked to the Bundibugyo strain, which has a fatality rate ranging between 30% and 50%, and for which there is no authorized vaccine or specific treatment, according to the WHO. The organization classifies the risk of the outbreak spreading in Sub-Saharan Africa as 'high', but globally as 'low'. The WHO estimates that the virus began circulating in Ituri about two months before the outbreak was declared and classified the epidemic as a 'public health emergency of international concern' on May 17.
The virus is transmitted through direct contact with the body fluids of infected people or animals and causes severe hemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding.
According to data collected up to July 11, the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo) registered a significant increase, totaling 702 deaths and 1,926 confirmed cases. Authorities reported that the current fatality rate remains at 36.4%.
Currently, there are 753 patients in isolation or receiving hospital treatment, while 318 people have recovered. The responsible Ministry emphasized that efforts continue to focus on strengthening early detection, improving medical care, and consolidating community participation.
Contact investigations are advancing by 78.3% in the eastern provinces of Ituri, considered the epicenter of the crisis, as well as North Kivu and South Kivu. Cases and deaths have also been detected in Tshopo and Haut-Uele, with most of these cases originating from Ituri.
The DRCongo National Institute of Public Health warned about the weekly growth of confirmed cases, which indicates continuous transmission within the population. This outbreak is linked to the Bundibugyo strain, which has a mortality rate ranging between 30% and 50%, and for which no specific vaccine or treatment is available.
The World Health Organization (WHO) assesses the risk of expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa as 'high', but the global risk remains 'low'. WHO protocols define the end of an Ebola outbreak if no new cases are identified for 42 consecutive days, which is double the incubation period of the virus.
The outbreak was formally declared on May 15 in the province of Ituri, which borders Uganda and South Sudan. The epidemic has also spread to Uganda, where 20 cases were confirmed, 15 of which were imported from the DRCongo, resulting in two deaths in that country.
The WHO estimated that the virus began circulating in Ituri about two months before the official declaration of the outbreak and classified the situation as a 'public health emergency of international concern' on May 17. This is the 17th Ebola outbreak to affect the DRCongo, making it the third worst recorded in history.
The current outbreak is surpassed only by outbreaks that occurred in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, which caused approximately 11 thousand deaths and 28 thousand cases, and another one in eastern Congo between 2018 and 2020, which resulted in 2,299 deaths and 3,481 cases.
The virus is transmitted through direct contact with body fluids of infected individuals or animals, manifesting severe symptoms such as hemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding.
More than 1,500 confirmed cases of Ebola infection have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 473 deaths. The current mortality rate reaches almost a third.
Currently, 628 patients are in medical isolation wards and hospitals. Additionally, doctors are monitoring 11,360 people who had contact with infected individuals.
The World Health Organization (WHO) previously reported that this outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus and is developing rapidly. According to WHO data, the main areas of spread in the DRC are located in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu. The organization assesses the probability of further spread within the country as extremely high.
Despite the high risk, the WHO does not recommend imposing any restrictions on movement or trade both within the DRC and with Uganda. It was also noted that one patient with symptoms of Ebola was previously hospitalized in Israel. Authorities emphasized that this virus is not transmitted through airborne routes.
