Ebola Death Toll Tops 1,500 in Congo as Outbreak Becomes Second-Largest Ever

Confirmed Ebola cases have surpassed 3,500 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the outbreak continues to spread across central Africa, with the death toll exceeding 1,500. It has become the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record.

According to CNN and Xinhua on the 1st, health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced that confirmed Ebola cases had risen to 3,532 and deaths to 1,556 as of the 29th. The fatality rate was recorded at 44.1%. Currently, 807 patients are in isolation or receiving hospital treatment, while 626 have recovered.

According to data released the same day by the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 3,553 Ebola cases have been recorded since the outbreak was confirmed in mid-May. At least 1,558 people have died.

Within just over two months, this outbreak has surpassed the total number of cases recorded during the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s major Ebola outbreak that lasted about two years, from August 2018 to June 2020.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cases in this outbreak reached 1,000 within the first 40 days after the response system was activated. That is far faster than the 2018 outbreak, when it took about 235 days to exceed 1,000 cases. Cases are rising roughly six times faster than in 2018.

The only Ebola outbreak larger than the current one in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the case that occurred in West Africa from 2014 to 2016. At that time, more than 28,600 cases and 11,325 deaths were reported.

CNN analyzed that this outbreak involves several overlapping difficult circumstances. It is caused by a rare strain of the virus, and ongoing armed conflict in the region has made it difficult for response teams to reach residents in affected areas. About two-thirds of the deaths were patients who died without receiving treatment at medical facilities. There is also a high risk of community transmission during the handling of bodies in unsafe ways.

The Ebola virus in this outbreak has been identified as the Bundibugyo variant. This variant first broke out in the Bundibugyo region of Uganda in 2007 and also spread in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2012.

Ebola is an acute hemorrhagic fever transmitted through direct or indirect contact with the blood or bodily fluids of infected animals, patients, or the deceased. With its high fatality rate and the absence of a vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo type currently circulating, international health authorities stress that early diagnosis, rapid isolation, and early treatment are key to preventing its spread.