The Democratic Republic of Congo’s latest Ebola outbreak has become the deadliest in the country’s history, surpassing the devastating 2018-2020 epidemic even as health authorities warn that the current outbreak is yet to reach its peak.
Since the beginning of what is the seventeenth Ebola outbreak recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the haemorrhagic disease has killed at least 2,325 people out of 4,945 confirmed cases as of 15 August, according to the latest national health ministry report seen by RFI.
The death toll surpasses the previous record set during the 2018–2020 epidemic, which was centred on North Kivu province in eastern DRC and lasted almost two years.
Crucially, this earlier outbreak had been declared over when its final figures were established. The current epidemic is still spreading exponentially, with transmission active across 55 health zones in six provinces.
In the latest 24-hour reporting period, Congolese authorities recorded 101 new confirmed cases and 53 deaths, alongside 34 recoveries.
The United Nations has described the outbreak as the fastest-growing Ebola epidemic on record in the country, with the disease currently killing around one person every 30 minutes.
The outbreak was officially declared on 15 May, although the first suspected cases were detected on 24 April and health authorities believe the virus may have been circulating before then.
It is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is currently no specifically approved vaccine or treatment, although several vaccines are being tested.
Fear of treatment centres
The Ituri province remains the epicentre of the outbreak, accounting for 4,194 confirmed cases and 1,838 deaths – almost 85 percent of all infections recorded since the outbreak began.
The province also registered 89 of the latest 101 cases.
North Kivu is the second most affected, with 596 confirmed cases and 417 deaths, a fatality rate of around 70 percent.
Haut-Uélé province has recorded 138 cases and 62 deaths, while smaller numbers have been reported in Tshopo, South Kivu and Bas-Uélé.
One of the most concerning features of the outbreak is the large number of deaths occurring outside healthcare facilities. According to the World Health Organization, more than 70 percent of those dying from Ebola are doing so in the community rather than in treatment centres.
Of the 53 deaths recorded in the most recent 24-hour period, 33 occurred outside healthcare facilities – 30 of them in Ituri and three in North Kivu.
Fear of treatment centres, mistrust of health authorities and confusion over symptoms continue to delay treatment in some communities.
Contact tracing has nevertheless improved. The health ministry report shows that 20,791 of 24,383 people marked for a follow-up were successfully traced – an overall rate of 85.3 percent.
But significant regional differences remain. Almost 90 percent of contacts were traced in Ituri, compared with 79 percent in North Kivu and just under 62 percent in Haut-Uélé.
Strain on resources
The latest health ministry figures also point to a growing strain on treatment capacity and medical supplies.
Several Ebola treatment or transit centres in Ituri province are reported to be full, while in North Kivu, all 142 beds designated for suspected cases were occupied. None of the six affected health zones in Haut-Uélé has an Ebola treatment centre meeting required standards.
The report also details shortages of protective equipment and disinfectant.
In some districts, stocks of hand sanitiser and protective goggles are close to exhaustion, while just 349 kilograms of chlorine are available against an estimated requirement of 1,800kg.
Response teams are also grappling with staff shortages, strikes over unpaid allowances and insecurity in areas where armed groups remain active. North and South Kivu remain affected by fighting between the Congolese army and the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group, complicating access to some communities.
This article has been adapted from the original version in French by Patient Ligodi.
