Ebola has now infected 10,060 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and killed 4,887 of them, nearly one in two, according to figures reported Tuesday. It is the country’s largest and deadliest outbreak, and the second-largest Ebola epidemic ever recorded.
Only the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa was bigger: about 28,600 people infected and more than 11,000 dead. This one is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine and no approved treatment. Nearly every person counted is Congolese, and the places where it is spreading are among the hardest in the country to reach.
The outbreak was declared in mid-May. It has since reached 66 health zones across eight Congolese provinces. Al Jazeera reports that only about 20% of new cases can be traced to a known chain of transmission. Africa CDC, the African Union’s health agency, says it needs 95% to bring an outbreak under control.
At least half of the deaths happened outside treatment centers, which are overwhelmed and in remote areas short of supplies. Health workers are being attacked: a nurse was killed Monday while responding to a suspected case. Staff in some places have also gone on strike over unpaid wages.
Cases abroad
The virus has crossed borders. Uganda recorded 20 cases and two deaths, mostly imported from Congo in May and June, and the World Health Organization declared it Ebola-free in August. Kenya has 9 cases and two deaths; the first was a man who traveled from Congo through Uganda and died in Nairobi. Nigeria has reported one case, making it the fourth African country affected.
On Monday, Switzerland flew the wife of a Swiss diplomat to a hospital there. She had no travel history to Congo, and the Swiss government believes she was infected in Uganda. Uganda’s health minister has said citizens returning from Congo will face a 21-day quarantine.
What is being tested
The first human trial of a vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain, called Tumaini, began Saturday, the WHO announced. A separate trial of the antiviral obeldesivir as a preventive treatment for people exposed to the virus began in July in Congo and Uganda. In August, an international stockpile group released 70,000 doses of Ervebo, a vaccine made for a different Ebola species, with 20,000 earmarked for a trial of whether it protects against Bundibugyo and 50,000 for frontline and health workers.
Africa CDC has said it needs $18 million to start therapeutic trials in Congo. For Congolese families in North America with relatives in Ituri and the other affected provinces, the outbreak is not a distant headline: it is a count of people they know. The next WHO situation report will show whether the share of traced cases is rising.
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