The Ebola outbreak ravaging the conflict-ridden areas in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has grown into the largest ever recorded in the country.
Caused by the Bundibugyo virus strain, for which treatment is yet to be developed, the outbreak has killed about 1,587 people by July 30 – about 44% of the infected people.
The total of 3,605 cases as of this date exceeds the approximately 3,500 cases recorded during DRC’s hitherto largest outbreak, between 2018 and 2020. The number of cases recorded in these two years has been surpassed by the current outbreak in just over two and a half months.
The speed of the spread is 8.5 times faster than the world’s largest known Ebola outbreak that started in West Africa in 2014, infecting 28,600 people and killing 11,325 by the time it was declared over in 2016. It has spread to 10 countries, including the US and Italy.
However, in the first two and a half months, the disease had infected only 423 people, which is just over 11% of the number of cases recorded in the same time period since the current outbreak was declared on May 15.
It started in the northeast province of Ituri, bordering South Sudan and Uganda. While most cases remain concentrated here, the disease quickly spread south to the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, large parts of which are occupied by the Rwandan military and its proxy, the M23 armed group, in a war against the DRC for its mineral wealth.
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Infections have also spread to Ituri’s north, to the province of Haut-Uélé, and westward to Tshopo. Across these five provinces, the outbreak has affected 49 health zones, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement on August 1.
“The convergence of insecurity, population displacement and mobility, and cross-border movements complicate response operations and increase the risk of further geographical spread,” it warned.
Neighboring Uganda, which had also announced the outbreak on May 15, had officially announced its end on July 28. However, the spread in DRC is intensifying, the WHO said. The 567 new cases and 296 deaths in the latest full week of reporting marked the “highest weekly number” recorded since the outbreak, “underscoring the exceptional pace of transmission,” added its statement.
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