DR Congo Ebola epidemic becomes world’s second largest outbreak

DR Congo's Ebola Outbreak Becomes Second Largest on Record

The Democratic Republic of Congo's current Ebola outbreak has become the world's second largest on record, with confirmed cases surpassing 3,500, according to figures released by the DRC Ministry of Communication and Media on Friday. The data show that the outbreak has now exceeded the country's previous record set between 2018 and 2020, which saw roughly 3,470 cases.

The numbers, reported by Al Jazeera and Deutsche Welle, indicate that 3,532 cases have been confirmed across five provinces, with 1,556 deaths, putting the case fatality rate at 44.1 percent. The outbreak has also grown into the world's second-largest Ebola epidemic, trailing only the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak that recorded 28,616 cases and 11,310 deaths across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Officials have described the current outbreak as the fastest-spreading ever. Carl Skau, acting head of the United Nations World Food Programme, told Reuters, "It's the fastest spreading Ebola epidemic that we have ever seen. The world needs to pay much more attention." According to Africa's top public health agency, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the disease has killed five times as many people in its first three months as previous outbreaks had by the same stage.

Coverage Comparison

The figures cited in different reports show some variation. While Al Jazeera and Deutsche Welle report 3,532 confirmed cases and 1,556 deaths, other reports, including those from the South China Morning Post and The Hindu, cite 3,262 confirmed cases and 1,437 deaths. The discrepancy may reflect the timing of the data updates, as the Congolese health ministry releases new figures regularly. Some reports, like that from Al Jazeera, noted that the data came from a statement on Friday, while others referenced an "overnight update."

There is also divergence in how the outbreak's severity is characterized. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that Ebola is spreading in the DRC faster than in any previous outbreak, according to Al Jazeera and Deutsche Welle. However, the South China Morning Post and The Hindu highlighted concerns from residents that many communities in the affected provinces are either unreachable or have been abandoned by responders in recent days over safety concerns amid attacks from angry residents and rebels.

Key Claims

The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has no approved vaccine or treatment, as reported by Al Jazeera and Deutsche Welle. Vaccine research, however, is gaining momentum. The WHO has described a vaccine being developed by Singapore-based Hilleman Laboratories as the most promising candidate, according to Deutsche Welle. A separate Bundibugyo vaccine is also under development by the University of Oxford, with the first volunteer receiving a dose last week as part of an ongoing clinical trial.

The WHO warned that the true scale of the outbreak could be at least double the official tally, as reported by Al Jazeera. In the past month, the outbreak has expanded faster than any previous one, according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The outbreak, which was declared on May 15, has so far been found in five DRC provinces and in neighbouring Uganda. While Uganda is now close to being "virus-free," Ebola is spreading at an unprecedented rate in the DRC.

Efforts to slow the transmission have been challenged by rebel violence in eastern Congo as well as health workers striking to protest the nonpayment of their wages, as reported by The Hindu. The Africa CDC has said it would require $1.4 billion to contain the outbreak, three times its earlier estimate, according to Al Jazeera, although this figure was not mentioned in other reports.