A young man in the small town of Gwaka died after vomiting blood, and in his death the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, a rarer cousin of the strain that scarred West Africa a decade ago, crossed into Congo's far west for the first time. He had traveled a long arc of roughly three weeks, from the troubled east through neighboring Rwanda and Uganda and across the vast country, and the path of his journey now traces how easily a disease can outrun the borders meant to contain it. As the toll climbs past 3,000 deaths amid displacement, strikes and insecurity, the question facing Congo and its neighbors is
Ebola Outbreak in Congo Spreads to Seventh Province, Reaching Western Congo for First Time
A 23-year-old man in Gwaka, Sud-Ubangi died after vomiting blood; the outbreak has caused 3,398 reported deaths amid displacement and insecurity.
A 23-year-old man crossed the country and carried Ebola into western Congo
Mark
Why does a single death in Sud-Ubangi matter so much when there are already thousands of cases?
Mimi
Because of where it is. Sud-Ubangi is in the northwest and doesn't border any of the six eastern provinces already affected. It's the first western province hit.
Mark
How did the virus get there?
Mimi
According to Mbungani, the 23-year-old traveled from South Kivu through Rwanda and Uganda, then Ituri, then across Tshopo, Mongala and Sud-Ubangi, all within about three weeks.
Luke
That itinerary comes from one lawmaker. The governor's statement only confirmed the Bundibugyo result and the Bulu health district, and gave no details on the infection's source.
Mark
So the route isn't officially established?
Luke
Not in what's been reported. It's attributed to Mbungani, a former health minister, which carries weight, but it's still one account.
Mimi
And the case was found after death. Samples were taken post-mortem, so we don't know who he had contact with along the way.
Mark
What does the outbreak look like overall?
Mimi
7,022 cases and 3,398 deaths as of Thursday. Ituri is easing while North Kivu and Haut-Uele are climbing.
Luke
The claim it will pass West Africa's 11,000-plus deaths is WHO's projection, not a settled fact. And nothing yet says whether Sud-Ubangi has more cases.
Mark
And the vaccines?
Mimi
Ervebo is for Zaire and is being given to front-line workers. For Bundibugyo, trials are still underway.
Le Pouls
- A 23-year-old man died in Gwaka after vomiting blood, and his post-mortem sample confirmed Bundibugyo Ebola in a province that had never before recorded a case.
- His three-week journey through South Kivu, Rwanda, Uganda and Ituri, then across Tshopo and Mongala, shows how quickly the virus has moved across the country.
- With 7,022 cases and 3,398 deaths, WHO warns the outbreak is out of control and may surpass the deadly West Africa epidemic of 2014-2016.
- Health workers are on strike and displacement camps are overcrowded, while a vaccine trial that has not yet reached Ituri races to find protection.
- Neighboring Central African Republic, South Sudan and Congo-Brazzaville now watch nervously as Sud-Ubangi's borders become the next line of defense.
A young man in the small town of Gwaka died after vomiting blood, and in his death the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, a rarer cousin of the strain that scarred West Africa a decade ago, crossed into Congo's far west for the first time. He had traveled a long arc of roughly three weeks, from the troubled east through neighboring Rwanda and Uganda and across the vast country, and the path of his journey now traces how easily a disease can outrun the borders meant to contain it. As the toll climbs past 3,000 deaths amid displacement, strikes and insecurity, the question facing Congo and its neighbors is whether this new frontier will hold or whether the epidemic will carry its grief further across the map.
A 23-year-old man died on Tuesday in Gwaka, a town in the northwest of Congo. Before his death he had a fever and was vomiting blood, and samples taken afterward at the national research institute revealed the Bundibugyo virus, the rare form of Ebola driving the current outbreak. Governor Jean-Rene Galekwa Vundawe announced the result, making Sud-Ubangi the seventh province affected and the first in western Congo, far from the eastern provinces where the epidemic began.
According to local lawmaker Jean-Jacques Mbungani, the man's journey lasted only about three weeks. He left South Kivu, passed through Rwanda and Uganda, reached Ituri at the heart of the outbreak, and then crossed the country through Tshopo and Mongala before arriving in Sud-Ubangi. Kinshasa had recorded a case in May, but the capital was not counted as an affected province.
The national toll now stands at 7,022 cases and 3,398 deaths. The World Health Organization calls the outbreak out of control and fears it may surpass the West Africa epidemic of 2014-2016. Insecurity, displacement, a health workers' strike and constant movement of people are all fueling its spread, and crowded displacement sites are a particular worry.
Mbungani fears the virus may cross into Congo-Brazzaville or the Central African Republic. Congo has begun vaccinating front-line workers with Ervebo, which worked against the more common Zaire strain, but no licensed vaccine exists for Bundibugyo. Trials have started in Tshopo, Haut-Uele and Bas-Uele, and vaccinations in Ituri are expected next week. The coming weeks will show whether Sud-Ubangi sees further cases and how fast protection can reach the provinces in need.
A 23-year-old man died on Tuesday in Gwaka, a town in Sud-Ubangi province in northwestern Congo. Doctors and local authorities had been alerted that he had a fever and was vomiting blood. Samples were taken after his death and sent to Congo's national research institute, which found traces of the Bundibugyo virus, the rare form of Ebola behind the current outbreak.
The province's governor, Jean-Rene Galekwa Vundawe, announced the result in a statement issued Thursday and reported by local media on Friday. The statement said the sample came from the Bulu health district and gave no further detail on the source of the infection. Local lawmaker and former health minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani wrote on X on Thursday that a positive case had been recorded in Gwaka, and he described the patient's movements in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Friday.
According to Mbungani, the man's journey spanned only about three weeks. He left South Kivu province, where confirmed Ebola cases have been reported, then traveled to Rwanda and Uganda. From there he went to Ituri province, the outbreak's epicenter, and then crossed the country from northeast to northwest through Tshopo, Mongala and finally Sud-Ubangi.
With this case, Sud-Ubangi becomes the seventh province affected and the first in western Congo. It does not border any of the six eastern provinces where cases were previously 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 national figures released Friday, covering through Thursday, count 7,022 cases and 3,398 deaths. The World Health Organization has said the outbreak remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic, the deadliest on record, which killed more than 11,000 people, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. It is described as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. In recent weeks, new cases and deaths have fallen in Ituri but risen sharply in neighboring North Kivu and Haut-Uele.
Conditions for responders are harsh. Insecurity, displacement, a health workers' strike and heavy population movement are all feeding the spread, and displacement sites, where people already live in precarious conditions, are a particular concern. Mbungani voiced a regional worry: his province borders Congo-Brazzaville and the Central African Republic, and he said he fears the virus may spread beyond Congo. WHO warned last month of a risk to 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 front, Congo began vaccinating health and other front-line workers last month with Ervebo, a vaccine that worked in earlier outbreaks caused by the more common Zaire type of the virus. No licensed vaccine exists for Bundibugyo, and clinical trials are underway. Placide Mbala Kingebeni, Africa CDC's director for research, clinical trials and innovation, said Thursday that trials began in Tshopo, Haut-Uele and Bas-Uele, with vaccinations in Ituri due to start next week.
What to watch now is whether Sud-Ubangi produces further cases, whether the virus crosses into neighboring countries, and how quickly vaccination can reach the affected provinces.
Citations marquantes
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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