The Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded 5,026 Ebola deaths and more than 10,000 infections as the virus spreads into neighboring countries, with armed conflict, attacks on healthcare workers and shortages of medical resources complicating efforts to contain the outbreak.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
BUNIA, Congo — The death toll from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s ongoing Ebola outbreak has surpassed 5,000, making it the second-deadliest Ebola epidemic ever recorded, as health authorities struggle to contain infections that have spread beyond the country’s borders into other African nations.
The Congolese Ministry of Health reported Saturday, Oct. 31, that 5,026 people have died among 10,351 confirmed infections since the outbreak began in May. The figures represent a case fatality rate of approximately 49%, underscoring the severity of the disease and the difficulties facing medical teams operating in some of the country’s most unstable regions.
According to The Associated Press’ latest coverage of the Ebola outbreak, the disease has spread into eight of Congo’s 26 provinces and reached 67 health zones, with most infections concentrated in the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu.
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, was declared in mid-May and has expanded despite efforts by Congolese authorities and international health organizations to identify infections, isolate patients and trace those who may have been exposed.
The death toll now exceeds that of every previous Ebola epidemic except the 2014-2016 West African outbreak, which killed more than 11,000 people, primarily in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Dr. Patrick Otim, a program area manager with the World Health Organization, said the milestone reflects extensive suffering among families and communities affected by the disease.
“It is a very tragic milestone because it is just not a number,” Otim said. “It is families and communities that have been devastated by this outbreak. The number also shows the severity of this outbreak.”
Health authorities reported that 2,788 patients have recovered. However, the Bundibugyo virus currently has no approved vaccine or virus-specific treatment, leaving medical teams dependent on supportive care to manage symptoms and complications.
The outbreak is particularly concerning because infections continue to emerge outside established monitoring networks.
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 80% of newly identified cases involve individuals who were not previously listed as contacts of known Ebola patients.
That means health officials are frequently discovering infections without having identified the chains of transmission responsible for spreading the virus.
Contact tracing is a central component of Ebola containment because infected individuals can transmit the disease through direct contact with blood and other bodily fluids once symptoms develop.
Identifying exposed individuals, monitoring them for symptoms and arranging early medical care can reduce further transmission.
However, many patients in eastern Congo are not reaching treatment facilities before their conditions become critical.
Otim said approximately one-third of recorded deaths occurred outside Ebola treatment centers, with some victims dying before receiving diagnostic testing or medical assistance.
“These are people we never had opportunity to try to save them and it is one of the biggest concerns for us in this outbreak. How do we try to reach people early to get them to come to health facilities to get a fighting chance to survive?” he said.
The geographic extent of the outbreak has also increased significantly.
Of the 67 affected health zones, 50 continue to report active infections. Ituri and North Kivu account for 9,782 confirmed cases and 4,792 deaths, representing the overwhelming majority of the national total.
Congo’s eastern provinces have experienced years of armed conflict involving government forces, rebel movements and other armed organizations.
Among the most prominent is the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, which has been involved in fighting that has displaced civilians and disrupted transportation, medical services and humanitarian operations.
The region near Uganda also faces attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces, an armed organization linked to the Islamic State.
Persistent insecurity has limited the ability of healthcare workers to reach affected communities, transport medical supplies and maintain treatment operations.
Public distrust and misinformation have created additional obstacles.
Some residents have questioned whether Ebola is real or resisted public health measures, contributing to confrontations involving healthcare workers and community leaders.
In a separate Associated Press report on attacks against Ebola responders, a nurse was killed and another healthcare worker seriously injured while responding to a suspected infection in eastern Congo’s Tshopo province.
The attack occurred in Bafwasende, where medical personnel were investigating an Ebola alert.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned the violence, warning that attacks against healthcare workers undermine efforts to prevent further deaths.
A politician affiliated with Congo’s ruling party was also killed in September after publicly advocating Ebola prevention measures.
The violence has created further risks for medical teams already working in communities affected by conflict, limited infrastructure and shortages of essential supplies.
Healthcare workers have also staged repeated strikes over unpaid salaries, forcing some treatment facilities to suspend or reduce services.
On Friday, employees at an Ebola treatment center in Tchomia, Ituri province, stopped working to protest four months of unpaid wages.
The facility was treating five confirmed Ebola patients and monitoring 10 suspected infections when workers walked off the job.
Moise Mugenyi, one of the striking employees, said the prolonged salary delays had made it difficult for medical workers to support their families.
“We are tired of requesting our salaries. If they want to pay us, they will. … Today, being able to feed our families has become a real problem,” Mugenyi told the Associated Press.
Dr. Justin Mukonkole, acting head of Ebola response operations in Ituri, urged workers to remain patient while authorities addressed their demands.
Similar disruptions have occurred in Beni, North Kivu, where shortages of funding and fuel have affected treatment operations.
Local official Alain Siwako said inadequate financial resources from the central government were contributing to worsening conditions as infections continued to increase.
Rose Tchwenko, country director for the Democratic Republic of Congo at humanitarian organization Prosper Global, formerly Mercy Corps, described the mounting pressure on communities and medical personnel.
“Across Ituri and North Kivu, this outbreak is stretching everyone responding to it, including the communities themselves,” Tchwenko said.
The outbreak has also spread beyond Congo, raising concerns about international transmission.
Kenya has confirmed eight Ebola cases and two deaths, while Nigeria has recorded one confirmed case. Uganda previously reported infections associated with the broader regional outbreak.
The confirmation of cases in East, Central and West Africa makes the current outbreak the most geographically widespread Ebola epidemic documented on the continent.
Kenya’s first confirmed imported case involved a patient who traveled from Congo through Uganda before arriving in Kenya. The patient subsequently died, prompting health authorities to establish contact tracing and quarantine measures.
The World Health Organization’s October outbreak assessment documented the international transmission and warned that the increasing geographic spread required coordinated surveillance across national borders.
Nigeria’s first confirmed case involved a woman who had traveled from Uganda to Abuja. She and her husband were subsequently evacuated to Switzerland for medical care.
On Saturday, Nigerian health officials also announced that they were investigating two additional suspected Ebola infections in the country’s northeastern region.
According to Reuters’ report on the suspected Nigerian cases, both individuals had been isolated while laboratory testing and contact tracing continued. Authorities had not confirmed whether the suspected infections were connected to the country’s earlier case.
The expanding outbreak has prompted some governments to introduce travel restrictions and additional screening requirements.
Saudi Arabia announced restrictions involving travelers from Kenya on Friday, including a suspension of certain travel and visa arrangements.
The kingdom had previously imposed restrictions involving Congo, Uganda and South Sudan earlier in the outbreak.
The measures reflect growing concern about the possibility of infected individuals traveling internationally before symptoms appear.
Ebola can produce fever, severe weakness, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea and, in some cases, internal or external bleeding.
The disease is transmitted through direct contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated materials. It is not ordinarily spread through casual airborne exposure.
Early medical treatment, including fluid replacement and management of complications, can improve patients’ chances of survival.
However, the Bundibugyo virus responsible for the current outbreak presents a particular challenge because vaccines and antibody-based treatments developed for other Ebola viruses are not approved specifically for this species.
The ongoing epidemic has increased pressure on international health organizations to accelerate research, improve surveillance and strengthen medical capacity in affected regions.
Congo has experienced multiple Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified in 1976, but the current epidemic has already exceeded the death toll of the country’s previous largest outbreak between 2018 and 2020.
That earlier epidemic killed approximately 2,300 people in eastern Congo despite extensive international intervention and vaccination campaigns.
The latest outbreak has now killed more than twice that number, with medical teams continuing to confront unidentified transmission chains, insecurity and interruptions to treatment services.
As of Saturday, health authorities had not reported that transmission was under control, and the rising number of infections across several African countries has intensified concerns about the ability of national governments and international organizations to prevent further spread.
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