Ebola outbreak in Congo kills more than 2,300

More than 2,300 people have died in an Ebola outbreak that has spread rapidly through the Democratic Republic of Congo since May. The Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) variant has killed nearly half of those confirmed infected, putting the outbreak on track to become the deadliest Ebola epidemic in the country since the virus was first identified there in 1976.

According to a report released Aug. 16 by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s National Institute of Public Health, the outbreak has resulted in 4,945 confirmed cases and 2,325 deaths. The figures come about three months after Congolese authorities officially declared the outbreak May 15. The death toll has now surpassed the 2,299 fatalities recorded during the 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak, previously the deadliest in the country’s history.

This is the 17th major Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The virus was first identified 50 years ago in Yambuku, near the Ebola River in northern Congo, and in western South Sudan. The BDBV variant now circulating has no approved treatment or vaccine. The World Health Organization and other health agencies are investigating whether existing Ebola treatments could be effective against it.

The fatality rate for most infectious diseases tends to fall as an outbreak progresses. This Ebola outbreak has taken the opposite course. The fatality rate was about 20% in early June but has since risen to 46%. Reuters reported that the increase appears to reflect the breakdown of Congo’s health care and disease-control systems more than the variant’s inherent lethality.

The worsening armed conflict in Congo is making the outbreak even harder to contain. Health authorities have struggled to reach areas including Goma, the country’s largest city, which rebels seized last year. In Mongbwalu and other parts of eastern Congo, residents opposed to government disease-control measures have set fire to makeshift clinics. Armed groups attacked health facilities during previous Ebola outbreaks, and the reluctance of people with suspected infections to seek treatment is also believed to be contributing to the spread.

The BDBV variant also spread to neighboring Uganda, but the Ugandan government declared the outbreak over on July 28. Uganda officially declared the outbreak on the same day as Congo and recorded 20 confirmed cases, including two deaths.

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