More than 3,500 Ebola cases registered in a few months in the Democratic Republic of Congo

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and health authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the total number of victims of the Ebola outbreak in the two African countries has exceeded one thousand people.

Situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an outbreak was declared in mid-May, 999 deaths have already been registered among 2,473 confirmed cases. Previously, between 2018 and 2020, Ebola caused about 2,300 deaths out of 3,500 cases.

The current outbreak is the seventeenth declared in the country. The epicenter of the outbreak is the Ituri province in northeastern Congo, bordering South Sudan and Uganda. This province accounts for 89.1% of all infections and 83.9% of fatalities.

Status in Uganda and International Research

In Uganda, two deaths have been confirmed from 20 cases infected with the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no vaccine or treatment. The country's authorities reported last week that there were no new active cases, but the end of the outbreak is only possible in a month.

The WHO announced that clinical trials are underway since early July for two treatments for the rare Ebola strain found in these two African countries. Furthermore, the organization announced the first study conducted by Oxford University in the UK regarding the safety of the ChAdOx1 vaccine and authorized the first molecular diagnostic test for the virus.

Epidemic Overview and Child Assistance

Temirno Balde, WHO's incident management officer for the DRC, acknowledged that the epidemic continues to evolve, and they are still in the stage of tracking its progress. He noted that very intense virus transmission is observed in some areas, such as Bunia (the capital of Ituri province) and its surroundings.

Ebola has also been identified in four other provinces, including North and South Kivu, whose capitals and vast territories remain under the control of the anti-government armed group M23. The NGO Save the Children notes that at least 189 children are among the Ebola victims, and about 476 children have fallen ill since May. The NGO provides psychosocial support to more than four thousand children in Ituri.

Babu Rukengeza, Save the Children's Ebola response coordinator in Congo, emphasized that children in Ituri bear a huge emotional burden, as many have witnessed violence, lost loved ones due to the outbreak, or have been forced to move repeatedly. He added that safe spaces provide them with an environment where they can express themselves, rebuild trust, and simply be children again.

Nature of the Disease

Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people or animals, causing hemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding.

The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reached an alarming number, registering 2,473 cases and causing the death of 999 people as of Sunday, according to the latest available update.

Characteristics of the outbreak

This outbreak, which was declared on May 15 and evolved into an epidemic, differs from previous events because the causative virus, Bundibugyo, has no approved vaccines or treatments.

Rate of spread

The epidemic is killing individuals at a faster rate than any other documented outbreak, surpassing even the 2013-2016 outbreak, which was considered the worst in history, with over 11,000 deaths in at least 28,000 cases over eight months.

Transmission and health alert

Ebola is known to be rare but extremely contagious, capable of being transmitted through bodily fluids such as blood, vomit, or semen. The associated disease is severe and often fatal. Authorities issued an alert indicating that 80% of new cases emerged through unknown transmission chains, suggesting that the epidemic's spread is occurring faster than health teams can keep up.

Operational and social impact

Despite the increased response in the Ituri province, which is the epicenter of the epidemic, and in four other provinces where cases have been reported, the situation is worsened by attacks on health units and response teams. Such incidents have forced frontline professionals and humanitarian aid groups to withdraw from certain regions. Additionally, some health professionals have initiated strikes, claiming they have not received their salaries since the beginning of the epidemic.