Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo Becomes Deadliest in Country’s History
Public health officials say the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has become the deadliest in the country’s history.
The current outbreak, declared May 15, has killed 2,325 people, according to DR Congo’s Institute of Public Health. That surpasses the death toll recorded during the country’s 2018–2020 outbreak, the previous record-holder.
The numbers are stark. Tom Fletcher, the UN humanitarian chief, said last week that the outbreak is already the fastest-growing on record and that “the epidemic is killing someone every 30 minutes.”
Part of what makes this outbreak so difficult is the virus itself. It is caused by the Bundibugyo species, a rare type of Ebola with only two known prior outbreaks. There is still no approved vaccine for this species, and while several candidates are in development, one is based on the same technology used in the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
The scale of transmission has been hard to miss. On Sunday, the Institute of Public Health reported 4,945 confirmed cases, including 101 in the previous 24 hours. Six of the country’s 26 provinces have now recorded cases. The World Health Organization has described the pace of spread as “exceptional.”
Outside DR Congo, the number of cases remains relatively small. As of Aug. 12, Uganda had confirmed 20 cases, Germany had treated two patients, and France had reported one. Still, the cross-border cases are a reminder of how easily the virus can move when populations are on the move.
The speed of this outbreak stands out even by the standards of the worst Ebola epidemics. Reuters reported that it took nearly five months for the 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak, the world’s deadliest on record, to reach 1,000 deaths. The current outbreak passed 2,000 deaths in less than three months.
This is the 17th Ebola outbreak to emerge in DR Congo since the virus was discovered about 50 years ago. Years of conflict, weak health infrastructure and a highly mobile population have made it harder for responders to keep up. The country has dealt with Ebola before, but rarely on this scale in so short a time.
The WHO has said it hopes to reverse the spread of the virus within three months. But officials have stressed that the goal is to bring transmission under control, not necessarily to end the outbreak altogether.
Ebola remains a rare but deadly viral disease. Symptoms include fever, headache and tiredness, and they can appear suddenly between two and 21 days after infection. Because the early signs are similar to flu or malaria, the disease can be easy to miss. As it progresses, vomiting and diarrhea can set in, sometimes leading to organ failure. The virus spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids, including blood and vomit.
There is also movement on the medical front. The UK’s medicines regulator, the MHRA, has authorized the first human trials of a Bundibugyo vaccine developed at the University of Oxford. Three other research groups are working on different vaccine candidates for the species. In addition, the WHO is supporting a clinical trial in DR Congo to determine whether two existing antiviral therapies can improve survival rates.
The record death toll is a reminder of what happens when a rare virus arrives in a region already struggling with instability and limited health services. The outbreak has now become the country’s worst, and the global response is still catching up.