Congo Ebola Outbreak Deadliest Ever; 2,300 Dead
Congo Ebola Outbreak Deadliest Ever; 2,300 Dead
The News
An Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has killed more than 2,300 people, making it the deadliest in the country's history and the fastest-growing outbreak of the disease ever recorded.
Government data released overnight into Monday put the toll at 4,945 cases and 2,325 deaths, according to the Associated Press. Reuters reported Wednesday that cases have now passed 5,000.
The count surpasses Congo's 2018-2020 outbreak, which killed 2,299 people out of 3,481 cases.
The latest 24-hour figures showed 101 new cases and 33 deaths. More than 1,000 people have recovered; 730 remain in hospitals or isolation.
Why It Is Spreading
The outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus disease, a rare form of Ebola first identified in Uganda in 2007. Unlike the Zaire strain behind the 2018-2020 outbreak, there are no licensed vaccines and no approved treatments for Bundibugyo. Trials are under way in Ituri.
Health workers are relying on early detection, supportive care, infection prevention and community outreach instead.
The WHO says armed conflict, population movement and delays in identifying cases have all complicated containment. The AP reported that response teams also face threats from rebel groups, anger from long-traumatized communities, bad roads and misinformation claiming Ebola is not real.
Most new cases and deaths are being reported among people who were not already being monitored.
Timeline
Experts believe the virus was already spreading in the mining town of Mongbwalu, in Ituri Province, according to the AP.
A patient is admitted to Mongbwalu General Hospital for surgery, weeks before any outbreak is declared. Dr. Richard Lokudu told Al Jazeera the operation was performed on April 7 and that, roughly a month later, the surgical assistant, the anaesthetist and a post-operative care worker all died.
Congo officially declares the outbreak, its 17th. Health officials say transmission was already under way before the declaration.
Some unpaid health workers strike, one of several obstacles facing response teams, the AP reported.
The World Health Organization records a weekly high of 579 cases and 304 deaths.
U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher announces an extra $30.5 million and 20 more staff for the response.
The toll stands above 2,300 dead across six provinces in Congo's east.
Reactions
"We rapidly need to scale up to be able to prevent more deaths from happening, more families and communities from being impacted," Trish Newport, emergency coordinator with Doctors Without Borders, told the AP. She said limited community engagement remains a key problem: people "need to be involved in the response, and they need to know what the signs and symptoms are and what to do if they get sick. And this today is not happening in every single place where there are Ebola cases."
Newport said some families in the Ituri epicenter have lost as many as 15 relatives.
"This is a wake-up call," Fletcher said in announcing the U.N. money. "We need speed, scale and solidarity."
The WHO said over the weekend that the outbreak is still moving at an "exceptional pace" ahead of efforts to track it, and that "a substantial scaling up of response activities is underway to get ahead of the outbreak."
Dr. Justus Nsio, the Africa CDC's field incident manager for the response, told Al Jazeera the conditions in Ituri are brutal: "We are in a war zone, and the province is under a state of siege. We are making do with what we have to show our solidarity with the communities."
Dr. Thierno Balde, the WHO's incident manager for Bundibugyo virus disease in Congo, told Al Jazeera the spread is "mainly linked to the uncontrolled movement of people, particularly those who are ill, between localities that are already affected and neighbouring areas."
Furaha Gisèle, 35, whose uncle died of Ebola near Bunia, the Ituri provincial capital, told Al Jazeera: "Only God can spare us from this disaster."
What's Next
The WHO has said this outbreak is on track to surpass the 2014-16 epidemic in West Africa, the deadliest on record with more than 11,000 deaths. Measured from the first confirmed case, Congo's outbreak reached 2,000 deaths almost three times faster than that one did.
The $30.5 million and 20 additional U.N. staff announced Friday are being pushed to the front lines, and clinical trials for a Bundibugyo vaccine and treatments continue in Ituri.
Congolese officials say laboratory capacity is growing. Professor Pierre Akilimali, who heads Congo's Ebola response, told Al Jazeera: "When we first started, we didn't have any laboratories. Today, we have more than 12 laboratories here in Ituri Province." He said relying on labs outside the province slowed case confirmation early on.
More
Congo has recorded Ebola outbreaks since 1976 and has deep experience fighting the virus. Health workers in Ituri say that experience is not enough against the combination they face now: a strain with no vaccine, a province under a state of siege, delayed detection and community mistrust.
"When there are problems, particularly gunfire, nobody can hold their position," Dr. Charles Kashindi, head of Nyakunde Hospital southwest of Bunia, told Al Jazeera.
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