KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO / RankWire.AI / – The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the deadliest in the country’s history. Government data reported 4,945 confirmed cases and 2,325 deaths as of Aug. 16. In the past 24 hours, health officials documented 101 new confirmed cases. The total death count now exceeds the 2,299 fatalities recorded during the Ebola outbreak from 2018 to 2020.
These recent numbers intensify concerns raised earlier as cases and fatalities continue to rise in eastern DRC. United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher stated that the virus is killing one individual every 30 minutes. Since its official announcement in May, the outbreak has expanded rapidly. By late July, confirmed cases had already surpassed the total from the 2018 to 2020 outbreak, marking it as the largest in the country’s history by case number.
The outbreak was declared on May 15 following laboratory confirmation of Bundibugyo virus disease. It marks the 17th Ebola outbreak in DRC since the virus was first identified in 1976. The World Health Organization declared the situation a public health emergency of international concern on May 17. Currently, there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for Bundibugyo virus disease. Medical teams depend on early detection, supportive care, isolation, contact tracing, and infection control measures.
Six provinces affected as cases surge
By Aug. 12, the outbreak had spread to 54 health zones across six provinces: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Tshopo, and Bas-Uélé. The latest affected area is Bas-Uélé, where authorities confirmed a case in the Buta health zone. The patient had traveled from Haut-Uélé before developing symptoms. Ituri remains the epicenter, accounting for about 85% of the confirmed cases reported nationally at that point.
The epidemic has also impacted healthcare workers and strained medical resources in affected regions. As of Aug. 9, at least 155 infections among health workers had been confirmed, with 45 deaths. By Aug. 12, 965 patients had recovered. Medical teams monitored over 17,000 contacts out of roughly 20,700 identified. Ongoing insecurity, displacement, and attacks on health facilities hinder surveillance, treatment, and contact tracing efforts.
Response efforts intensify amid rising death toll
National health authorities are expanding testing, surveillance, and treatment efforts in affected zones. Teams are also training health workers and enhancing infection prevention at health facilities. They continue contact tracing, lab testing, safe burial procedures, and community outreach. Researchers are assessing experimental vaccines and therapies, though none has yet been approved for Bundibugyo virus disease. In July, a clinical trial for potential treatments began enrolling confirmed patients in Ituri as emergency measures increased.
The outbreak has also led to confirmed infections outside DRC. Uganda has reported 20 cases and two deaths, with authorities maintaining enhanced monitoring after discharging their last patient in July. France recorded one imported case without documented secondary transmission. The DRC epidemic now ranks second only to the 2014 to 2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak in total deaths worldwide. That outbreak resulted in 11,310 deaths and 28,616 cases across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.