DR Congo Surpasses Nine Thousand Ebola Cases With High Community Fatality

The Ebola epidemic declared on May 15 in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reached a tragic milestone by surpassing the 9,000 confirmed cases mark, according to the latest report from the Congolese Ministry of Health with data updated through October 12.

Health authorities confirmed a total of 9,066 infections and 4,381 deaths, placing the case fatality rate at 48.3%.

Despite the severity of the figures, the report highlights notable progress in medical care and patient recovery. To date, 2,389 individuals have recovered from the disease, including 33 hospital discharges recorded in the last 24 hours, while another 895 patients remain hospitalized or in isolation. Additionally, the contact tracing follow-up rate currently stands at 79.5%.

However, the Ministry of Health warned that community transmission remains one of the primary concerns, as many patients arrive late at medical centers, with 88 new confirmed cases recorded in a single day.

The eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu continue to be the hardest-hit territories in the country, accounting for 56 and 28 of the new daily infections, respectively.

In total, the epidemic now affects 65 health zones distributed across seven of the DRC's 26 provinces. Beyond Ituri and North Kivu, the health crisis extends through Tshopo (north-central), Bas-Uélé (north), Haut-Uélé (northeast), South Kivu (east), and South Ubangi (northwest).

This outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain, has become the second deadliest and most contagious in global history, surpassing the epidemic that occurred in the same region between 2018 and 2020, though it still remains below the devastating 2014–2016 West African outbreak that left roughly 11,000 dead and 28,000 infected.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working on the development of two new vaccines that have already initiated Phase 1 clinical trials in humans, demonstrating safety, although mass commercial distribution could take several months.

Concurrently, the DRC launched an immunization campaign in late August using the Ervebo vaccine, originally designed for the Zaire strain, which has shown positive preliminary signs of efficacy against this strain in animal trials.

The epidemic initially spread to neighboring Uganda, where the WHO officially declared the end of the outbreak on August 26 after recording 20 confirmed cases (15 of them imported from the DRC, resulting in two deaths). Likewise, countries such as Kenya, France, and the Netherlands have detected imported cases directly linked to this epidemic, although declaring a new outbreak within their territories has not been necessary.

Health authorities maintain their emphasis on early detection and rapid isolation to break the chains of transmission in affected communities.