The newest tally of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo shows an outbreak accelerating at a pace unmatched in the virus’s recorded history.
Congolese health officials say 3,360 infections have now been confirmed across five provinces in the country’s east. At least 1,487 people have died, putting the overall case fatality rate at an estimated 45%. Efforts to contain the disease have been severely disrupted by conflict in several of the areas hit hardest.
“I fear that at some point, life may come to a standstill here in our province of Ituri,” said Deborah Nzuva, a mother of four from Rwampara, one of the affected regions. “We were already in a precarious situation before the Ebola virus disease, which continues to claim its victims.”
The outbreak, involving the Bundibugyo strain, was formally declared by Congolese authorities on 15 May. Since then it has spread more rapidly than any of the DRC’s 16 previous Ebola outbreaks, and is nearing the scale of the country’s deadliest episode in 2018-2020, when 3,470 people were infected.
Prof Pierre Akilimali, from the National Public Health Institute (NPHI), who is leading the Ebola response, warned that transmission is still ongoing and that it remains difficult to predict when the outbreak will peak. He said the country still faces a long and challenging path before the disease is brought under control.
“Here in Ituri, we have the issues of insecurity, mining and high population density, which make the current outbreak more complex than previous ones,” he said.
Authorities say they have introduced several measures to slow transmission, including expanded surveillance through community liaison officers, the construction of more than 20 Ebola treatment centres, and the establishment of local testing laboratories. “The public must also play their part by seeking medical advice at the slightest suspicion of infection,” Akilimali said. “This will help us to respond effectively to the disease.”
Akilimali added that infections are still climbing in the Bunia and Rwampara health zones, where between 100 and 150 new confirmed cases are being recorded each week.
Annabelle Nissi, a clothing trader in Bunia, said people were living in fear.
“This outbreak is causing us great distress. Our hope lies solely in God’s hands. It continues to disrupt our lives and has brought our development projects to a standstill,” she said.
Dr Justus Nsio, field incident manager for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said it was a race against time.
“All the experts monitoring this outbreak agree that it was detected too late. When detection is delayed, we have to work hard to make up for what we missed earlier in order to contain the disease,” he said.
“What is certain is that, with the commitment of the movement and our partners, the outcome will be favourable.”
Clinical trials began in early July of a vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no standard treatment.
As of 15 July, about 20 people had been enrolled in these trials, which could last up to four months, according to Prof Placide Mbala, head of laboratory operations for the Ebola response in the DRC.
Uganda, which this week declared the Ebola outbreak over on its territory, 12 days after its last case was reported, has sent experts to the DRC to work alongside their Congolese counterparts, particularly in the border regions of Tchomia and Kasenyi.
