The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has surpassed 6,000 confirmed cases and killed 2,911 people, making it the country's largest outbreak on record, according to health authorities and the World Health Organization.
As of August 31, the DRC Ministry of Communications reported 6,041 confirmed cases, including 1,366 recoveries and 2,911 deaths, with an additional 619 patients in isolation or hospitalised. The outbreak, declared on May 15, has spread across six provinces and dozens of health zones in the north and east of the country.
Bundibugyo strain poses added challenge
The current outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare strain of Ebola for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment. This has made controlling transmission particularly difficult as the virus continues to spread. The World Health Organization has described the outbreak as the largest ever reported in the country and one that is expanding faster than previous epidemics. The scale has already surpassed the DRC's previous record outbreak, which recorded 3,317 cases between 2018 and 2020.
Ituri province remains the epicentre, while cases have also been detected in North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Tshopo and Bas-Uélé. The latest WHO update said the outbreak had reached 60 health zones by August 26.
Insecurity hampers response
The epidemic is unfolding in areas already struggling with armed violence, population displacement and fragile health services. Cases are mostly concentrated in eastern provinces where densely populated areas experience insecurity related to armed conflict, displacement and pre-existing humanitarian challenges.
Health workers face major difficulties reaching communities and tracing contacts as people move between affected areas. The medical charity Doctors Without Borders says existing health needs, as well as airport closures and flight restrictions, are complicating the provision of healthcare, disrupting the flow of staff, diagnostics, referrals and supply chains.
A strike by health workers, who protested unpaid wages and dire working conditions in early August, has added to the pressure on an already overstretched response system. The rapid movement of people has also raised concerns about further geographic spread, particularly across borders. WHO says the overall risk remains very high within the affected country and high in neighbouring states.
Mortality remains high
The outbreak has recorded a case fatality ratio of approximately 48 percent, according to WHO data. The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called it "the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic ever recorded," as people continue to be infected faster than frontline workers can track and respond to new cases. This is partly due to many new infections occurring among people who are not being monitored through contact tracing, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
The WHO has warned that the current outbreak could overtake the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic, which killed more than 11,000 people. Meanwhile, neighbouring Uganda was declared free of Ebola on August 28 after no new cases were reported for 42 days.