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Deadliest DRC Ebola
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has killed 2,325 people, surpassing the death toll from the 2018-2020 outbreak to become the deadliest in the country’s history.
“The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has killed 2,325 people”
The DRC’s public health institute said confirmed cases have risen to 4,945, including 101 new cases detected in the previous 24 hours, in its latest report on Sunday.
The outbreak, the DRC’s 17th, was officially declared on May 15 and is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus, which has no approved vaccines or treatments.
The case fatality ratio has risen from about 20 percent in early June to 46 percent, meaning nearly one in every two confirmed cases is now deadly, according to government data.
Tom Fletcher, the United Nations humanitarian chief, said the outbreak is the fastest growing on record and warned, "We need speed, scale, and solidarity before this virus gets even further ahead of us."
Calls for faster response
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that at its current pace, the outbreak is on track to eclipse the West African Ebola outbreak of 2014 to 2016, a crisis that killed more than 11,000 people.
In a press briefing in Geneva last Wednesday, Tedros said, "It's already the second-biggest Ebola epidemic on record, and it's moving faster than any previous Ebola outbreak."
Thomas Parisch, a public health specialist deployed to the DRC with Doctors Without Borders, said the case fatality ratio should fall as contact tracing improves, but instead, "we're still seeing many cases detected very late, when treatment is less likely to succeed."
The Guardian reported that on Friday the UN warned "Ebola is winning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo" and said the epidemic was now killing one person every 30 minutes.
The outbreak has affected 55 health zones across six provinces—Ituri, North Kivu, Haut-Uele, Tshopo, South Kivu and Bas-Uele—according to a situation report released on Sunday by the DRC’s health authorities.
What’s at risk next
The outbreak’s momentum has been attributed to weak health infrastructure, the region’s remoteness, and ongoing conflict near the DRC’s borders with South Sudan, Uganda, and Rwanda, which have hindered response efforts.
“"Ebola is claiming a life every 30 minutes in Congo."”
The Guardian said there are no approved vaccines or treatments for the rare Bundibugyo strain responsible for the current surge in cases, while a small number of experimental vaccines and therapies are being evaluated.
The UN and the World Health Organization warned of rapid spread, with Tom G. Fletcher saying the virus is causing a death every 30 minutes and urging the international community to double its efforts.
The Al Jazeera report said the proportion of people dying after a confirmed infection has risen to 46 percent, and Parisch linked the pattern to cases being detected very late, "with many identified only after they die in the community."
The stakes extend beyond the DRC’s borders as the outbreak earlier spread to neighboring Uganda, where authorities limited deaths to two and confirmed cases to 20 before declaring an end to the outbreak in that country last month.
