More than 300 children have died from Ebola since start of DRC outbreak

Child mortality rises amid DR Congo Ebola outbreak

More than 300 children have died from Ebola since the outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to figures cited by UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq, drawing on data from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Haq said children account for nearly a quarter of confirmed cases but almost a third of all deaths.

A separate report from UNICEF, as relayed by the Xinhua news agency, put the figures slightly differently, saying children aged 17 and below account for approximately 21 per cent of confirmed cases but 33 per cent of reported deaths. UNICEF pointed to a "concerning upward trend" in the mortality burden among children and called for continued attention to appropriate pediatric care.

The outbreak, which began in eastern DR Congo, continues to spread. Total cases have surpassed 4,000, with 1,850 deaths reported, according to figures cited by Africa News. As of Sunday, the country had reported 5,021 confirmed cases across 55 health zones in six provinces, with a case fatality rate of 47.4 percent, according to the WHO Regional Office for Africa, as reported by Lokmat Times.

Healthcare system under strain

The outbreak is severely disrupting access to essential healthcare. In the hardest-hit areas, use of health services has dropped by more than 40 percent in recent months, as fear of infection keeps people away, according to figures cited by Africa News.

The situation is also affecting pregnant women. According to the UN Population Fund, maternal deaths in Ituri have nearly doubled since the outbreak began, with about six women dying each week from childbirth-related complications. Ebola infection during pregnancy remains associated with almost universal fetal loss.

UNICEF warned that treatment services remain under pressure. Service delivery has been affected by delayed referrals, overcrowding, limited critical care and pediatric capacity, resource constraints and gaps in data reporting. The agency called for stronger early detection, timely referral and pediatric care as transmission continues.

Outbreak trajectory and response

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the outbreak remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), as the epidemic surpasses 5,000 cases, spreads into new areas and prompts authorities to pursue experimental vaccines and treatments. The outbreak is now the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded and is spreading faster than all previous ones, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Tedros was quoted as saying: "We must be frank: the epidemic is far from being under control. It had a big head start, and we are still playing catch-up."

Africa CDC said the outbreak is killing roughly one person every 30 minutes and risks becoming the deadliest Ebola epidemic ever recorded globally if its trajectory is not urgently reversed.

During the first 95 days of reporting, the seven-day moving average of confirmed cases rose to more than 90 a day, higher than at the same stage of the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic and the DRC's 2018-2020 outbreak, according to Lokmat Times.

The eastern province of Ituri remains the epicentre, accounting for 84.8 per cent of cumulative cases, but infections are accelerating in neighbouring provinces. WHO warned that high mortality, deaths outside treatment facilities, a growing surveillance workload and uneven response capacity indicate that current measures are not sufficient to interrupt transmission.

Community-led response and vaccine research

To counter fear and misinformation, 13,000 community workers have been deployed by the Ministry of Public Health, WHO, Africa CDC, UNICEF and partners. They have reached more than 2.4 million people with information on Ebola prevention and early detection and carried out more than 500,000 household visits.

During a visit earlier this week to Ituri province, the WHO called for an urgent scale-up of the community-led response, including stronger early detection and contact follow-up, as well as better access to care.

Meanwhile, the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Vaccine Research has recommended a clinical trial in the DRC to evaluate the Ervebo vaccine against the Bundibugyo virus, which causes the current outbreak. Ervebo is the only licensed vaccine against Ebola. The WHO is working with partners to begin the trial as soon as possible.

The current outbreak has surpassed the 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC, previously the country's deadliest, according to Lokmat Times.