The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned that an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is spiralling out of control, having recorded over 1,700 deaths in just 14 weeks.
Speaking during a visit to Bunia on Tuesday, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya cautioned that current containment efforts are falling short, with contact tracing failing to halt the spread of the virus.
Kaseya revealed that nearly 70 per cent of new infections are now emerging outside known contact lists, signaling widespread community transmission and necessitating an immediate shift in response strategy.
Fastest-growing outbreak on record
Since the outbreak was officially declared on 15 May, 3,802 cases and 1,707 deaths have been recorded, making it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever documented.
According to Kaseya, it has already become the world’s second-largest Ebola outbreak, expanding seven times faster over its first 14 weeks than the 2014–2016 West African epidemic did during the same timeframe.
Medical response and security challenges
In response to the surge, Kaseya and World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Janabi visited Bunia to inaugurate a new treatment centre.
Janabi noted that daily testing capacity has been expanded from approximately 30 samples to more than 2,000, while treatment bed capacity has reached 1,000. However, he warned that the scale of the response remains inadequate relative to the ongoing loss of life.
Containment efforts face major technical and operational hurdles:
- Lack of medical countermeasures: The outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or targeted treatments.
- Operational obstacles: Health workers have been unable to identify the original index case, while ongoing armed conflict, population displacement, and illegal mining in the region continue to disrupt contact tracing.
- Impact on health workers: More than 100 healthcare workers have contracted the virus since the start of the outbreak.
While the majority of cases remain concentrated in Ituri province, infections have now been confirmed across five other provinces, including Kisangani.
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