More than 300 people died of Ebola in eastern Congo last week. It marked one of the deadliest weeks so far. Government figures released Monday showed the crisis’s scale. Health workers are struggling to keep pace with the fast-spreading virus.
The Congo Ebola outbreak is now the fastest-growing on record. Cases and deaths continue to climb at an alarming rate.
Ministry of Health data covered the period through Saturday. The outbreak had reached 5,514 cases and 2,642 deaths. Of those deaths, 317 were reported in the past seven days.
Congolese experts warn the true numbers may be far higher. They believe the outbreak could be three times its known size. It began weeks before officials confirmed it.
Severity of the outbreak
This is the deadliest outbreak of its kind on record. Many victims are dying outside treatment centers. At this stage, it has recorded seven times more deaths than the 2014–16 West Africa outbreak. That earlier crisis killed more than 11,000 people in total.
Ituri province remains the epicenter. Most new cases there still come from people outside monitored contacts.
Nearly half of all infected patients have died. The overall fatality rate stands at 47.9%. In harder-to-reach areas, the rate climbs much higher. North Kivu province has a fatality rate of 68.6%.
Vaccine update
The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus. No approved vaccines or treatments exist for it. This has made the response far more difficult.
On Friday, Congo received more than 16,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine. It worked against a more common type of Ebola in past outbreaks. The World Health Organization says it will also be used in clinical trials for a Bundibugyo vaccine.
WHO says it is unclear if Ervebo protects against the Bundibugyo virus. Early lab and animal data suggest it may offer some protection. Officials have not said when frontline workers will get the doses.
In Ituri, residents welcomed the vaccine’s arrival. Many hope it will help slow the spread.
“I am very pleased that these vaccines have finally arrived,” said Héritier Ramazani, a local resident. “We are fed up with recording new cases of Ebola every day.”
Response challenges
The Congo Ebola response faces extreme obstacles. Rebel threats and large population movements make the work dangerous. Some responders have stopped working because they have not been paid.
Medical teams also face angry, traumatized communities. Bad roads slow their movement. Misinformation claiming Ebola is not real spreads fear and distrust.
Experts believe the virus was spreading earlier than reported. They point to the mining town of Mongbwalu, where infections may have started as early as February. Authorities did not declare the outbreak until May 15.
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