KINSHASA — Congolese health officials have reported one of the sharpest single-day jumps in Ebola infections since the latest outbreak was declared, underscoring the mounting challenges facing the response effort.
The Ministry of Health said Sunday that 72 new cases were recorded over the previous 24 hours, pushing the total number of confirmed infections to 782. Officials also confirmed 32 additional deaths, bringing the total number of confirmed fatalities to 181.
Authorities believe the true number of infections may be higher. The outbreak was officially confirmed on May 15, but officials suspect it had been spreading for weeks before that. At the same time, contact tracing coverage has fallen to 56%, a steep drop from the previous week, raising concerns that many cases are going undetected.
The response has been further complicated by insecurity, weak contact tracing and persistent funding shortages, even a month after the outbreak was first announced.
This outbreak is being driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment. That sets it apart from the Zaire strain, which caused most of Congo’s 16 previous Ebola outbreaks and for which medical countermeasures are available.
So far, 56 people have recovered. The ministry said the outbreak’s current fatality rate stands at 23%.
Africa’s top health body said the same day it is deploying technical expertise and supporting laboratory systems, active case finding and community engagement efforts to accelerate the response to the disease outbreak.
“We remain committed to supporting affected countries until transmission is stopped. We call on partners and donors to urgently mobilize resources to strengthen the response and save lives,” said the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya.
The outbreak is concentrated in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri, which accounts for more than 90% of the cases. Cases have also been recorded in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, and have spread across the border to Uganda.
Nearly a million people have been displaced by conflict in Ituri, according to the U.N. humanitarian office, making contact tracing difficult as people flee attacks or move frequently in the vast province with dense forests, poor roads and remote villages that can take days to reach.
Tracing is also difficult among the thousands of artisanal miners who regularly move between remote sites in the mineral-rich region.
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Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.
