KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO / RankWire.AI / – The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the deadliest in the country’s history. Government data showed 4,945 confirmed cases and 2,325 deaths as of Aug. 16. Health officials recorded 101 new confirmed cases during the previous 24 hours. The death toll has now surpassed the 2,299 fatalities recorded during the country’s 2018 to 2020 Ebola outbreak.
DRC battles its deadliest Ebola outbreak as confirmed cases and deaths continue to rise. (AI-generated image)
The latest figures deepen concerns raised days earlier as infections and deaths continued climbing across eastern DRC. United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said the virus was killing one person every 30 minutes. The outbreak has expanded at an exceptional pace since authorities formally announced it in May. Confirmed infections had already surpassed the total recorded during the 2018 to 2020 outbreak by late July, making the current epidemic the country’s largest by case count.
Authorities declared the outbreak on May 15 after laboratory testing confirmed Bundibugyo virus disease. It is the DRC’s 17th recorded Ebola outbreak since the virus was identified in 1976. The World Health Organization classified the emergency as a public health emergency of international concern on May 17. No approved vaccine or specific treatment currently exists for Bundibugyo virus disease. Medical teams rely on early detection, supportive care, isolation, contact tracing and infection control.
Outbreak reaches six provinces as cases accelerate
The outbreak had reached 54 health zones across six provinces by Aug. 12. Those provinces include Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Tshopo and Bas-Uélé. Bas-Uélé became the latest affected province after authorities confirmed a case in the Buta health zone. The patient had traveled from Haut-Uélé before developing symptoms. Ituri remained the center of the outbreak, accounting for about 85% of confirmed cases reported nationally at that stage.
The epidemic has also affected health workers and placed additional pressure on medical services in affected areas. By Aug. 9, authorities had confirmed at least 155 infections among health workers, including 45 deaths. By Aug. 12, 965 patients in the DRC had recovered. Health teams followed more than 17,000 of roughly 20,700 identified contacts during the latest reporting period. Insecurity, population displacement and attacks on health facilities have complicated surveillance, treatment and contact tracing.
Health response expands as death toll reaches record level
National health authorities have expanded testing, surveillance and treatment capacity across affected areas. Response teams are also training medical staff and strengthening infection prevention measures at health facilities. Officials continue contact tracing, laboratory testing, safe burial procedures and community outreach. Researchers are evaluating experimental vaccines and therapies, but none has received approval for the Bundibugyo species. A clinical study of potential treatments began enrolling confirmed patients in Ituri in July as the emergency response expanded.
The outbreak has also produced confirmed infections outside the DRC. Uganda recorded 20 cases and two deaths, while health authorities continued enhanced monitoring after discharging their last patient in July. France recorded one imported case without documented secondary transmission. The DRC epidemic now ranks behind only the 2014 to 2016 West Africa Ebola epidemic in total deaths worldwide. That outbreak caused 11,310 deaths and 28,616 cases across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.