The Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in the deaths of 2,325 individuals, as per government statistics released on Sunday. This surpasses the toll of the 2018-2020 outbreak, making it the deadliest outbreak in the nation’s history.
According to the latest report from the D.R.C.’s public health institute, the number of confirmed cases has risen to 4,945, including 101 new cases identified in the preceding 24 hours. This outbreak, the 17th in the country, has already marked a significant milestone in late July by becoming the largest in terms of the number of cases.
Recent government data reveals that the total death toll has exceeded the 2,299 fatalities recorded in the Congo’s 2018-2020 outbreak, previously the worst on record in the country. The current data indicates 4,945 confirmed cases.
Approximately three months since its formal declaration, this outbreak is now second only to West Africa’s 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, which saw 28,616 cases and 11,310 fatalities across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization. It took nearly five months for the West African outbreak to reach 1,000 deaths, while the current Congolese outbreak reached 2,000 deaths in less than three months.
The ongoing outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments. The outbreak has escalated since its declaration on May 15, with challenges such as weak health infrastructure, community resistance, and instability impeding efforts to identify and respond to cases.
The case fatality ratio, representing the proportion of individuals dying after a confirmed infection, has increased from approximately 20% in early June to 46%, indicating that nearly one in every two confirmed cases now results in death. Experts clarify that this trend does not suggest the virus has become more lethal but rather highlights persistent deficiencies in surveillance, case detection, and access to care.
Authorities have managed to limit the earlier spread of the outbreak to neighbouring Uganda, where only two deaths and 20 confirmed cases were reported before the country declared an end to the outbreak last month. Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals, living or deceased, and can lead to symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and severe cases of internal and external bleeding.