The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has become the deadliest in the country’s history, with at least 2,325 people killed, according to government data.
The latest death toll has surpassed that of the country’s 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak, while confirmed cases have climbed to 4,945, including 101 new cases recorded within a 24-hour period.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the outbreak could eventually overtake the 2014-2016 Ebola crisis in West Africa, which recorded 28,616 cases and 11,325 deaths across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The United Nations warned on Friday that Ebola was “winning” in the DRC, with the epidemic reportedly killing about one person every 30 minutes.
So far, six of the DRC’s 26 provinces have been affected, with the majority of cases concentrated in the north-eastern part of the country. Ituri province, where the outbreak was first detected, has recorded more than 3,400 cases.
The outbreak is also being described as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in known history. While it took almost five months for the West African outbreak to reach 1,000 deaths, the current DRC outbreak has exceeded 2,000 deaths in less than three months.
The current surge is being driven by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments. However, more than 1,000 people in the DRC have recovered, while around 730 others remain in healthcare or isolation facilities.
Clinical trials for two potential treatments targeting the strain began in Ituri last month. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said two vaccines specifically developed for the Bundibugyo strain were being tested on people.
Public health specialist Thomas Parisch, who was recently deployed to the DRC with Médecins Sans Frontières, said many patients were still being identified at a late stage, reducing their chances of survival.
He noted that in a typical outbreak, the death rate should decline as contact tracing improves and patients receive treatment earlier. However, many Ebola cases in the DRC are still being detected only after patients have become critically ill or died in their communities.
Neighbouring Uganda has reported at least 20 cases, all in the capital Kampala. No new cases have been reported since June 21, and the country was declared Ebola-free on July 28 after its final patient was discharged on July 16.
The WHO declared the Ebola outbreaks in the DRC and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern in May, with genetic sequencing indicating that the outbreak had already begun several months earlier in February.
Ebola can spread from infected wild animals to humans and subsequently between people through direct contact with blood, bodily fluids, organs or contaminated materials. Symptoms can include fever, extreme tiredness, muscle pain, headaches and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and other serious complications.
Efforts to contain the outbreak have been complicated by attacks on healthcare facilities, misinformation surrounding safe burials and industrial action by some unpaid health workers. Poor roads, limited healthcare infrastructure and years of conflict have further hampered the response.
WHO regional Africa director Mohamed Janabi said more than 70% of patients die within their communities rather than healthcare facilities, highlighting the difficulties authorities face in getting infected people into treatment early.
Health officials said some families remain reluctant to send relatives to Ebola treatment centres because of fear and misinformation. In some cases, patients are only taken to hospital when their condition has deteriorated severely.
For many families in affected communities, that delay can prove fatal, with some patients dying before they even reach a treatment centre.
