KINSHASA, Aug 17 – Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has recorded its deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, with 2,325 people confirmed dead, according to government data released on Sunday.
The death toll has now passed the 2,299 deaths recorded during the 2018-2020 outbreak, which was previously the worst Ebola outbreak in the country.
The latest outbreak has recorded 4,945 confirmed cases, including 101 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, according to Congo’s public health institute.
The outbreak is the country’s 17th and had already become its largest by number of cases in late July. It was officially declared on May 15 and has continued to spread despite efforts to contain it.
Health officials are particularly concerned about the rising death rate among confirmed cases. Government data shows that the case fatality rate increased from about 20% in early June to 46%.
Health experts say the higher rate does not necessarily mean the virus has become more deadly. They say delays in detecting cases, weak health systems and limited access to treatment are making it harder to save patients.
Thomas Parisch, a public health specialist with Medecins Sans Frontieres, said many patients are still being identified late, when treatment is less likely to succeed. Some cases are only discovered after patients have died in their communities.
Weak health infrastructure, resistance from some communities and instability in parts of the country have also made the outbreak harder to control.
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments. Researchers are studying a small number of experimental vaccines and treatments, while health authorities are also examining whether existing Ebola treatments could help. So far, the available evidence is mainly from animal studies.
The outbreak also spread to neighbouring Uganda, where health authorities recorded 20 cases and two deaths before declaring the outbreak over last month.
The DR Congo outbreak is now the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak ever recorded, behind the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africa. That outbreak affected Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and caused 11,310 deaths from 28,616 cases, according to the World Health Organization.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, whether living or dead. The virus can cause fever, vomiting and diarrhoea and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding.
