Local officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reported Tuesday that deaths from Ebola virus disease have surpassed 2,000, with half of those fatalities recorded in the past 20 days. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo species of the virus, was declared by DRC Health authorities on 15 May and designated a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization two days later.
With more than 4,000 confirmed cases, the epidemic is now the second-largest and fastest-growing on record, surpassed only by the 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak that claimed over 11,000 lives. In just three months, the current death toll has nearly matched the total from the 2018–2020 epidemic, which recorded fewer overall cases.
Alarmed by the virus’s rapid spread, local health officials have raised concerns about potential mutation. The director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention recently met with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to assess the threat. No approved vaccines or treatments exist for the Bundibugyo strain. Vaccine trials have been authorised in Canada and the United Kingdom, though results are months away. Treatment trials are underway in Ituri province, the outbreak’s epicentre.
Julian Harneis, the UN’s senior Ebola coordinator in the DRC, urged aid workers, governments, donors and local communities to “do more, and do it today, to save lives and stop Ebola.”
The response is severely impeded by ongoing violence from non-state armed groups in the remote, mineral-rich east, and by a lack of accessible healthcare for vulnerable populations. At least a dozen Ebola treatment facilities have been attacked, driven by fear, misinformation and deep community mistrust of outside authorities. WHO estimates that 60 to 70 per cent of Ebola deaths occur in communities, with many patients unable to reach a doctor until it is too late.
Further complicating efforts is the conflict between the Congolese military and the Rwanda-backed M23 militia. According to the UN’s humanitarian aid office (OCHA), at least 13 civilians were killed, several abducted and homes burned in a recent attack on the village of Banana École in Ituri, displacing more than 28,000 people. News reports attribute the assault to militants affiliated with the local ISIL-linked group.
“We, along with our partners, continue to support the response, but our work is hindered by insecurity,” UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said Tuesday. Briefing journalists in New York a day earlier, he said OCHA is working with partners to prepare neighbouring Rwanda for possible cross-border spread. Although Rwanda has confirmed no cases, frequent border crossings keep it at high risk. WHO has trained Rwandan health workers in prevention and surveillance, while the UN supports enhanced screening, traveller monitoring, protective equipment distribution and community engagement.
UN agencies and partners are operating mobile testing laboratories, running nurseries for children of affected families, protecting medical facilities, upgrading hygiene infrastructure and distributing infection-prevention supplies.
“We reiterate our call on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and facilitate safe and sustained humanitarian access to communities impacted by both violence and the outbreak,” Haq said.
