The Democratic Republic of the Congo has fought more Ebola epidemics than any other nation, yet none has come close to the one now sweeping through its eastern and northern provinces. In an update released on November 6, the World Health Organization called it the biggest outbreak of the disease ever recorded in the country, whatever the virus strain.
By November 3, health authorities had confirmed 10,668 infections. Of those patients, 5,198 have died, a fatality rate just under 49 per cent, while 2,881 have recovered. In the two weeks after the WHO’s October 23 report alone, 964 more cases and 511 deaths were added to the tally.
This time the culprit is Bundibugyo virus, a less common member of the Ebola family that last surfaced in Congo in 2012. Since the outbreak was declared in mid-May it has reached eight provinces, from Ituri and North Kivu to Nord-Ubangi, and the virus is still spreading in 51 of the 67 health zones touched so far. Some districts are seeing a slight easing, but fresh hotspots keep appearing, frequently in places scarred by fighting and displacement.
What worries the WHO most is where people are dying. Of 512 deaths counted since October 21, 335 happened at home or in the community rather than in treatment centres, and young children make up a large share. That points to infections being spotted late and patients struggling to reach care.
Abroad, the picture has held steady. Kenya has recorded nine cases, two of them fatal, and Nigeria one imported case, with no new infections in either since late October. Switzerland and the United Kingdom have flown infected citizens home for treatment. Europe’s disease agency ECDC rates the risk for people in the EU as very low, and the WHO advises against any travel or trade restrictions.
