A young man's illness in a quiet town in western Congo, traced through a laboratory sample, has revealed how far a rare strain of Ebola has traveled across a country already struggling with conflict, displacement and a strained health system. What began in the east now reaches a province that borders two neighboring nations, carrying with it the old and familiar fear that a disease crossing borders is harder to contain than one confined to a single place. The outbreak's sheer scale, with thousands of cases and deaths, places it in a grim lineage of epidemics that test the capacity of communiti
Ebola Outbreak in Congo Spreads to Seventh Province as Cases Keep Climbing
As of Wednesday, 6,942 cases and 3,349 deaths have been reported, with displaced residents at sites facing extremely precarious conditions.
The virus is no longer moving only to neighbors.
Mark
Why does a single death in Sud-Ubangi matter so much when thousands of cases are already counted?
Mimi
Because of where it is. It's the first affected province in the west, and it doesn't border any of the six eastern provinces. The virus is no longer moving only to neighbors.
Mark
And the man's travel is part of that?
Mimi
Yes. In three weeks he went from South Kivu through Rwanda and Uganda, then Ituri, then across the country through Tshopo, Mongala and Sud-Ubangi.
Luke
Careful, though. That itinerary comes from Mbungani, a lawmaker and former health minister. The governor's statement only confirmed the virus in a sample from the Bulu health district and gave no other details on the source.
Mark
So we don't know where he caught it?
Luke
Not from this reporting. We know the route as described and the positive sample. Where he was infected, and whether he infected anyone, isn't stated.
Mimi
What is stated is the regional worry. The province borders Congo-Brazzaville and the Central African Republic, and Mbungani said he fears regional spread.
Mark
The numbers are huge, 6,942 cases and 3,349 deaths. Is it getting worse everywhere?
Luke
No. Ituri has seen declines in recent weeks, while North Kivu and Haut-Uele have risen sharply. Those are government figures as of Wednesday.
Mimi
And vaccines are only part of the picture. Ervebo targets Zaire, and trials for a Bundibugyo vaccine are still under way.
The Pulse
- A 23-year-old man fell ill in Gwaka, and within days Sud-Ubangi became the seventh Congolese province to confirm the rare Bundibugyo strain.
- His journey, from South Kivu through Rwanda and Uganda to Ituri and across the country, shows how quickly the virus can travel along people's movements.
- The province borders the Central African Republic and Congo-Brazzaville, and officials fear the virus could slip across those frontiers.
- With 6,942 cases and 3,349 deaths reported, WHO says the outbreak is out of control and may surpass the West Africa epidemic.
- Responders are racing to vaccinate workers and launch trials, while a health workers' strike, insecurity and crowded displacement sites complicate every step.
A young man's illness in a quiet town in western Congo, traced through a laboratory sample, has revealed how far a rare strain of Ebola has traveled across a country already struggling with conflict, displacement and a strained health system. What began in the east now reaches a province that borders two neighboring nations, carrying with it the old and familiar fear that a disease crossing borders is harder to contain than one confined to a single place. The outbreak's sheer scale, with thousands of cases and deaths, places it in a grim lineage of epidemics that test the capacity of communities and institutions to respond together.
The story began with a 23-year-old man who developed a fever and began vomiting blood in Gwaka, a town in Congo's northwestern province of Sud-Ubangi. He died on Tuesday, and samples taken after his death confirmed traces of the Bundibugyo virus, a rare strain of Ebola behind the current outbreak. The provincial governor announced the result, and with it Sud-Ubangi became the seventh province affected, and the first in the west.
A local lawmaker and former health minister later traced the man's path. In just three weeks he had moved from South Kivu to Rwanda and Uganda, then into Ituri, the outbreak's epicenter, and across the country through Tshopo and Mongala. His journey revealed how easily the virus follows human movement, and it raised fears for a province that borders Congo-Brazzaville and the Central African Republic.
The national toll now stands at 6,942 cases and 3,349 deaths. The World Health Organization calls it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record and warns it could surpass the West Africa epidemic. Cases have eased in Ituri but climbed sharply in North Kivu and Haut-Uele.
Responders face serious obstacles: insecurity, displacement, a health workers' strike and constant movement of people. Crowded displacement sites are especially worrying, since their residents already live in precarious conditions. Vaccination of front-line workers has begun with Ervebo, which worked against the more common Zaire strain but not Bundibugyo, so trials for a suitable vaccine are underway in several provinces, with vaccinations in Ituri set to follow.
A 23-year-old man developed a fever and began vomiting blood in Gwaka, a town in Congo's northwestern province of Sud-Ubangi. Doctors and local authorities were alerted to his condition. He died on Tuesday. Samples were taken after his death and sent to the national research institute, which found traces of the Bundibugyo virus, the rare strain of Ebola behind the current outbreak.
The province's governor, Jean-Rene Galekwa Vundawe, issued a statement on Thursday saying the sample came from the Bulu health district. Local media reported it on Friday. The statement gave no other details about the source of the infection. With the result, Sud-Ubangi became the seventh province affected by the outbreak, and the first in western Congo.
More detail on the man's movements came from Jean-Jacques Mbungani, a local lawmaker and former health minister. He wrote on X on Thursday that the case had been recorded in Gwaka, and later told The Associated Press by phone that in just three weeks the man had left South Kivu province, where confirmed cases have been reported, and traveled to Rwanda and Uganda. He then went to Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak. From there he crossed the country from northeast to northwest, passing through Tshopo, Mongala and Sud-Ubangi.
Mbungani voiced concern about where the province sits. It borders Congo-Brazzaville and the Central African Republic, and he said he feared the virus may spread regionally. Sud-Ubangi also does not border any of the six eastern provinces where cases had already been confirmed: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Tshopo and Bas-Uele. A case was detected in Kinshasa in May in a person who had traveled from the east, but the capital, more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) from the epicenter, was not classified as an affected province.
The latest government figures, as of Wednesday, show 6,942 cases and 3,349 deaths. The World Health Organization has described this as the world's fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record, says it remains out of control, and says it is on track to pass the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic, the deadliest ever, which killed more than 11,000 people, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. In recent weeks new cases and deaths have declined in Ituri but risen sharply in neighboring North Kivu and Haut-Uele.
Conditions for responders are difficult. The outbreak is being driven by insecurity, displacement, a health workers' strike and heavy movement of people. Displacement sites are of particular concern because residents there already live in extremely precarious conditions. Last month WHO warned that the virus could cross from Congo into the Central African Republic and South Sudan, which border affected provinces. Uganda, which reported 20 cases since May, declared itself free of Ebola in July.
On the medical side, Congo began vaccinating health and other front-line workers last month with the Ervebo vaccine. It proved effective in past outbreaks caused by the more common Zaire type of the virus, not Bundibugyo. Clinical trials are under way to find a licensed vaccine for Bundibugyo. Placide Mbala Kingebeni, Africa CDC's director for research, clinical trials and innovation, said Thursday that the trials began in Tshopo, Haut-Uele and Bas-Uele, and that vaccinations in Ituri are set to start next week.
Notable Quotes
It worries me. Our province borders Congo-Brazzaville and the Central African Republic. We fear it may spread regionally.— Jean-Jacques Mbungani, lawmaker and former health minister
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