Ebola Death Toll in DR Congo Surges Past 2,000 as Fastest-Growing Outbreak Strains Global Response

The numbers are getting worse. Fast. More than 2,000 people have died from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the outbreak was declared less than three months ago, with the pace of deaths accelerating sharply in recent weeks.

Citing official government data, Al Jazeera reported that 4,381 cases have been confirmed across five provinces, including 2,011 deaths. Around half of those deaths have occurred in roughly the past three weeks. That makes this the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak recorded in the country, according to Al Jazeera, and the world’s second-largest after the devastating West Africa epidemic of 2014-16, which killed more than 11,000 people.

The speed of the outbreak has triggered increasingly urgent warnings from international health officials.

Julien Harneis, designated Senior Ebola Coordinator by the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the epidemic had crossed 2,000 deaths, with half occurring in just 20 days. His message to governments, donors and aid organisations was blunt: “We must do more, and do it today.”

Health agencies are scrambling to expand frontline capacity as infections rise.

The World Health Organization is expanding a treatment centre it built in Lita from 40 beds to 80, working alongside the Congolese Health Ministry and humanitarian partners including UNICEF, ALIMA, the World Food Programme and MONUSCO. WHO has also provided 20 beds to a local maternity ward and is training hygienists, surveillance and infection-control officers, decontamination teams and safe-burial teams.

WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention last week called for an immediate expansion of the community-led response.

The agencies identified critical gaps in contact tracing, early detection and medical infrastructure, while also calling for more treatment and burial capacity, better protection and timely payment for frontline workers and improved access to insecure areas. They have also urged donors to get committed financing to frontline operations faster. The warning followed a high-level mission to Uganda and DR Congo involving WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya and WHO’s Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Janabi.

India has also joined the international response. In June, Union Health Minister JP Nadda announced $10 million for preparedness, response and recovery during a virtual summit organised by the African Union.

The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus, which causes a severe viral haemorrhagic fever with a high mortality rate. According to the information released on the outbreak, there are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments for Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo strain. But right now, the most alarming number may not simply be 2,011 deaths. It is the speed at which that number is climbing.