In the eastern reaches of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a rare variant for which no vaccine or approved treatment yet exists, has now infected 3,532 people and killed 1,556 in less than three months, making it the second-largest Ebola epidemic the world has recorded. Only the West African epidemic of 2014 to 2016 was larger, and the people tracking this one fear that its speed, and the likelihood that many cases are going uncounted, may yet bring it closer to that grim record. The response is being carried out by exhausted workers, under-resourced clinics and
Congo's Ebola Outbreak Becomes Second-Largest on Record, With 3,532 Cases and 1,556 Deaths
At least 1,556 people have died and 3,532 cases have been reported across the Democratic Republic of Congo, with health workers exhausted and facilities under attack.
The disease has now settled in the community.
Mark
Second-largest on record sounds like a milestone. What does it actually tell us?
Mimi
That the outbreak is big and fast. Less than three months in, deaths are five times what earlier outbreaks had reached by the same stage, according to Africa CDC.
Mark
And the strain matters here?
Mimi
Yes. It's Bundibugyo, which has no approved vaccine or treatment, so responders lack the tools they'd have with other Ebola strains.
Luke
Let me flag the numbers. 3,532 cases and 1,556 deaths are the government's reported figures. The WHO has said the real scale could be up to four times higher, but that's an estimate, not a count.
Mimi
Fair. And the reporting itself points to why counts may lag: not enough vehicles, understaffing, and community mistrust.
Mark
Angele Gapio described people turning to traditional healers. What does that signal?
Mimi
That cases may never reach a clinic, so transmission continues unseen. She said awareness campaigns are failing and responders are exhausted.
Luke
That's her account from Bunia, though. It's one frontline view, not a measurement across the whole outbreak.
Mark
What about the money?
Mimi
Africa CDC says $1.4 billion is needed. The May-August plan has $213.9 million declared against $242.4 million planned, so even that smaller plan is short.
Luke
Worth noting the $1.4 billion and the plan figure measure different things. And we don't yet know how much the U.S. travel restriction will cut staffing; Samaritan's Purse only says it will scale back.
O Pulso
- Transmission is running ahead of containment, and the official count of 3,532 cases may be only a fraction of the true toll, which the WHO says could be up to four times higher.
- Health workers in Bunia and surrounding areas are exhausted and traumatised, while treatment facilities have come under attack in a region crowded with armed groups.
- Africa CDC now says containment will cost $1.4 billion, yet the May-to-August plan has secured only about $214 million of its roughly $242 million in planned spending.
- A U.S. travel restriction on American citizens in Congo threatens to pull responders away from treatment centres just as demand is climbing.
- Without an approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, the outbreak is landing in a precarious place, where the next weeks will test whether funding, surveillance and care can catch up.
In the eastern reaches of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a rare variant for which no vaccine or approved treatment yet exists, has now infected 3,532 people and killed 1,556 in less than three months, making it the second-largest Ebola epidemic the world has recorded. Only the West African epidemic of 2014 to 2016 was larger, and the people tracking this one fear that its speed, and the likelihood that many cases are going uncounted, may yet bring it closer to that grim record. The response is being carried out by exhausted workers, under-resourced clinics and communities that have lost faith in official messages, in a region where armed conflict and shrinking foreign aid make every step harder.
On Friday the Congolese government released figures that set a grim new mark: 3,532 reported Ebola cases and 1,556 deaths in an outbreak that has been growing for less than three months. It is now the second-largest Ebola epidemic on record, behind only West Africa's 2014 to 2016 epidemic, and transmission is still outpacing the effort to stop it.
What alarms those tracking the outbreak is its speed. Africa CDC says the disease has killed five times as many people as earlier outbreaks had by the same point. The strain, Bundibugyo, has no approved vaccine or treatment, and the WHO warns the true number of cases could be up to four times higher than reported. Surveillance is strained by a lack of vehicles, too few staff and deep mistrust in communities, where many people still turn to traditional healers. Angele Gapio of Caritas in Bunia described responders who are worn down and awareness campaigns that are not working.
The work is happening in a difficult place. Eastern Congo is home to dozens of armed groups, and health facilities have been attacked, while cuts to foreign aid have thinned supplies. Africa CDC now estimates containment will cost $1.4 billion, and the current plan has secured about $214 million of its roughly $242 million in planned spending.
A new U.S. restriction on American citizens in Congo travelling on commercial flights adds another strain. Samaritan's Purse, which runs treatment centres with U.S. responders, says it will have to scale back. The coming weeks will show whether funding can match the need, whether the uncounted cases can be found, and whether care holds as aid workers become harder to keep in place.
On Friday, the Congolese government put a new number on a crisis that has been growing for less than three months: 3,532 reported Ebola cases and 1,556 deaths. The figures, released in a statement from the Communications Ministry, make this the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded, and they show transmission still running ahead of the effort to stop it.
Only one outbreak has been bigger. The West Africa epidemic of 2014 to 2016 recorded 28,616 cases and 11,310 deaths across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization. Congo's outbreak is far smaller than that, but the pace is what alarms the people tracking it. Africa CDC, the continent's top public health agency, says the disease has killed five times as many people as previous outbreaks had by the same point in their course.
Carl Skau, the acting head of the U.N. World Food Programme, told Reuters this week that it is the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic ever seen, and that the world needs to pay much more attention. The cause is the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, a rare one for which there is no approved vaccine and no approved treatment.
The official count may also understate the problem. The WHO said earlier this month that the true scale could be up to four times higher than reported. Reuters reported this week that surveillance is stretched by shortages of vehicles, understaffing and community mistrust. Angele Gapio, who leads emergencies for the Caritas charity in the northeastern city of Bunia, said awareness campaigns are failing and that frontline responders are exhausted and traumatised. In her words, the disease has settled into the community: people keep seeking treatment from traditional healers, and the chains of transmission continue.
The response is working in hard terrain. Eastern Congo is home to dozens of armed groups, and health facilities there have come under attack. Deep cuts to foreign aid have left resources thin.
Money is a persistent gap. In June, Africa CDC said it would need $1.4 billion to contain the outbreak, three times its earlier estimate. Figures presented this week by Africa CDC and the WHO showed that Congo's response plan for May through August had secured $213.9 million in declared funding, against planned spending of $242.4 million.
Policy in Washington is adding another constraint. Earlier this month the Trump administration said it was blocking American citizens in Congo from travelling to the U.S. on commercial flights. Samaritan's Purse, which runs treatment centres and relies on U.S. responders for its work in Congo, said the quarantine order will force it to scale back.
What to watch next is whether funding catches up with the stated need, whether surveillance can reach the cases now going uncounted, and whether treatment capacity holds as aid groups lose staff.
Citações Notáveis
It's the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic that we have ever seen. The world needs to pay much more attention.— Carl Skau, acting head of the U.N. World Food Programme
The disease has now settled in the community; people continue to seek treatment from traditional healers.— Angele Gapio, Caritas emergencies head in Bunia
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