The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has exceeded 3,000, which continues to spread in the northeastern part of the country and is now the worst the country has ever faced.
According to figures released by the government on Wednesday, there have been 6,186 confirmed cases and 3,007 deaths.
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The outbreak is caused by the Budibugyo strain of the Ebola virus and has surpassed the 2018–2020 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in both scope and number of fatalities.
It is also the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded worldwide, following the one in West Africa during 2014–2016, which resulted in more than 11,000 deaths among over 28,600 cases.
The current outbreak was officially declared on May 15 in Ituri Province, although health officials and experts estimate that it had already begun in January. Since then, it has spread to six provinces.
Experts point out that inadequate surveillance systems, insecurity, and resistance from certain communities make it difficult to detect and treat patients in a timely manner.
The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 60% of deaths occur outside of health centers, a fact that highlights the difficulties in detecting cases in a timely manner.
There is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Budibugio strain, although several candidate vaccines are under development.
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo recently began vaccinating healthcare workers with Merck’s Ervebo vaccine, which has been approved for the Zaire strain of Ebola and is believed to potentially offer some protection against Budibugyo as well.
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