KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo / AfricaWire.IO / – The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has passed 10,000 confirmed cases, government data showed on Tuesday. Health authorities are racing to slow the spread of the disease across several African countries. Nearly half of the 10,060 people confirmed to have the virus have died, according to the country’s Ministry of Health. It is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history and the deadliest the country has recorded.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control put the death toll at 4,887 as of October 26, based on data up to October 25. Community transmission is continuing across eight provinces. They are Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo, Haut-Uélé, Bas-Uélé, Sud-Ubangi and Nord-Ubangi. The outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus, a species of Ebola.
Congolese authorities declared the outbreak on May 15 after infections emerged in the north-east of the country. By September, more than 6,000 confirmed cases and over 3,000 deaths had been recorded. Last week, the World Health Organization reported 9,765 cases and called for stronger surveillance as new clusters appeared in remote areas. WHO said security and logistical challenges were hampering access to some affected zones.
Cases reported beyond Congo’s borders
Kenya has confirmed 9 cases, including 2 deaths, all linked to its first case, according to the ECDC. The most recent Kenyan case was reported on October 20, and the second death occurred on October 23. Nigeria reported one case on October 20 in a person who had travelled to Uganda. The patient was later medically evacuated to Switzerland.
Uganda recorded cases linked to the outbreak but has since declared its own outbreak over. Four cases have been imported to or medically evacuated to Europe since May, all involving health or humanitarian workers. Two were evacuated to Germany and one to the Netherlands, while France reported one case in July. The ECDC assesses the risk for people living in the European Union as very low.
Vaccination and surveillance efforts expand
Health authorities launched an Ebola vaccination campaign in Kisangani in August, prioritising frontline workers and contacts of confirmed cases. The Ervebo vaccine is being used under a compassionate-use framework while data are gathered on its effectiveness against the circulating strain. WHO has said about 30,000 contacts are monitored each day over a three-week period. Around 2,600 people in the country have survived the disease.
WHO has called for more funding and medical and logistical support, especially in areas affected by conflict, displacement and food insecurity. It has urged neighbouring countries to step up surveillance and screening at border crossings. The organisation has advised against restrictions on travel to, or trade with, affected countries. The rising case count underlines the scale of the challenge facing response teams across the region.