The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak has become the second-largest ever recorded, with infections spreading faster than containment efforts…reports Africa Daily News Desk
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak has become the second-largest ever recorded, with the virus continuing to spread faster than efforts to contain it, according to government figures released on Friday.
The Congolese Communications Ministry said the number of confirmed Ebola cases has risen to 3,532, while the death toll has reached 1,556. The outbreak, which began less than three months ago, is now surpassed only by the 2014-2016 West African epidemic, which recorded 28,616 cases and 11,310 deaths across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Health experts have warned that the current outbreak is advancing at an unprecedented pace.
“It’s the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic that we have ever seen,” Carl Skau, acting head of the UN World Food Programme, said this week. “The world needs to pay much more attention.”
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the outbreak has claimed five times as many lives at this stage as previous Ebola epidemics.
The current outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment, making containment significantly more difficult than in previous outbreaks involving other strains.
The response has also been complicated by ongoing insecurity in eastern Congo, where dozens of armed groups continue to operate. Repeated attacks on healthcare facilities, coupled with deep cuts to international aid, have strained medical resources and disrupted efforts to trace infections and treat patients.
Aid workers on the ground say community engagement remains one of the biggest challenges.
“The disease has now settled in the community,” Angele Gapio, head of emergencies for the Caritas charity in the northeastern city of Bunia, said. “People continue to seek treatment from traditional healers, and the chain of transmission continues.”
The WHO said earlier this month that the actual number of infections could be as much as four times higher than official figures indicate, reflecting gaps in surveillance and case reporting.
According to Reuters, health authorities are struggling to monitor the outbreak because of shortages of vehicles, insufficient staffing and mistrust among local communities, all of which have hampered contact tracing and disease surveillance.
Funding constraints have added to the pressure. Africa CDC said in June that it would require US$1.4 billion to contain the outbreak, tripling its earlier estimate as the epidemic expanded.
Data presented this week by Africa CDC and the WHO showed that Congo’s response plan for the May-August period had secured US$213.9 million in pledged funding, falling short of the targeted US$242.4 million.
The response has also been affected by US travel restrictions. According to Reuters, the US administration recently barred American citizens in Congo from travelling to the United States on commercial flights, limiting the movement of humanitarian personnel.
Samaritan’s Purse, a humanitarian organisation that operates Ebola treatment centres in Congo and relies heavily on US medical responders, said the quarantine order would force it to scale back some of its operations, raising further concerns about the international response as the outbreak continues to escalate.
