The latest data from the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo revealed that the Ebola outbreak has claimed the lives of 2,325 individuals, making it the deadliest outbreak in the country’s history, surpassing the toll of the 2018-2020 outbreak. The country’s public health institute reported an increase in confirmed cases to 4,945, with 101 new cases identified within the previous 24 hours.
This outbreak, classified as the 17th in the country, holds the record for the highest number of cases, a milestone achieved in late July. The total death toll has now exceeded the 2,299 deaths recorded in the previous worst outbreak in Congo between 2018 and 2020.
The current outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, lacks approved vaccines or treatments. Since its declaration on May 15, the outbreak has intensified due to challenges such as poor health infrastructure, community resistance, and instability, hindering effective case identification and response efforts.
The case fatality ratio, indicating the proportion of deaths among confirmed cases, has risen from about 20% in early June to 46%. This signifies that nearly half of the confirmed cases now result in fatalities, highlighting persistent deficiencies in surveillance, case detection, and access to medical care.
While efforts are ongoing to evaluate experimental vaccines and therapies, including existing Ebola treatments for potential protection, limited evidence from animal studies is available. The outbreak had previously spread to Uganda, where authorities successfully contained it, limiting deaths to two and confirmed cases to 20 before declaring the outbreak over last month.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected individuals, leading to symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding. The World Health Organization notes that Congo’s current outbreak, although significant, still falls behind the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa in terms of cases and fatalities.