Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo Surpasses 7,000 Cases as Death Toll Nears 3,400

As of September 10, health authorities had recorded 7,022 confirmed cases and 3,398 deaths, putting the case fatality rate at approximately 48.4 percent. A total of 1,671 patients have recovered.

A Spreading Epidemic

The outbreak has now affected 62 health zones across seven provinces, with Sud-Ubangi becoming the latest province to report a case after a 23-year-old man with a travel history from South Kivu died from the virus. Notably, Sud-Ubangi does not border any of the six provinces where cases had previously been reported, raising concerns about undetected transmission chains.

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The affected provinces include Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Tshopo, Bas-Uele and now Sud-Ubangi. Ituri remains the epicentre, accounting for 5,406 confirmed cases since the outbreak began, including 1,114 new cases in the 21 days preceding September 7.

Rising Community Deaths

A key concern is the rising proportion of deaths occurring in the community. During the week of August 31 to September 6, 75 percent of confirmed deaths occurred in communities — the highest weekly proportion observed during the reporting period, up from 56.6 percent two weeks earlier.

"This divergence is concerning, as the increase in community deaths alongside the continued decline in treatment facilities deaths indicates that the earlier reduction in overall mortality has not been sustained," the WHO report said.

The persistence of high community mortality may reflect multiple barriers along the pathway to care, including delayed detection and notification, delayed referral or transfer to treatment facilities, limited recognition of illness, geographic and transport barriers, care-seeking outside formal health facilities, and community acceptance or trust.

Response Challenges

The outbreak is unfolding in a complex humanitarian setting characterized by insecurity, armed conflict and widespread population displacement. WHO officials have warned that shortages of trained staff, operational partners and funding are causing a bottleneck in efforts to expand the response.

Nearly 1,400 treatment beds have already been established across 59 treatment centres, but WHO estimates that another 1,600 beds will be required. Around 9,000 staff would be needed for the planned capacity of 3,000 beds, requiring the recruitment and training of roughly 5,000 additional health workers.

The pool of international organisations capable of running Ebola treatment centres is limited, partly due to the impact of broader global donor funding cuts. "Where are all the organisations that were running treatment centres in West Africa outbreaks in 2014 to '16? Why they are not currently in the field to support this current response is probably because of lack of resources," said WHO's Luca Fontana.

Vaccine and Treatment Efforts

The Ervebo vaccine, licensed against the Zaire ebolavirus, is currently being evaluated for cross-protection against the Bundibugyo strain through an effectiveness study. Under protocol-governed compassionate use, vaccinations for frontline healthcare workers and at-risk populations began on August 27, with 2,007 healthcare and frontline workers vaccinated as of September 6.

The DRC has a stockpile of about 70,000 doses — 50,000 will go to the outbreak's frontline workers and 20,000 will be used for a WHO-led Phase 3 trial to see if the vaccine works against Bundibugyo ebolavirus.

Healthcare worker infections remain a major concern, with 167 confirmed infections, including 47 deaths.

Regional and Global Risk

The WHO assesses the risk of further spread as "very high" within the DRC and "high" for neighbouring countries. Uganda, which had recorded 20 cases and two fatalities, was officially declared free of the virus by the WHO on September 9 after completing the required surveillance period.

The second IHR Emergency Committee, convened on August 18, emphasized that "the outbreak remains far from controlled" and continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern.

The current outbreak, declared in May, has become the country's largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic on record and the second-largest globally, behind the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa.

With reporting from Xinhua, WHO, Anadolu Ajansı, China.org.cn, ReliefWeb and other continental sources.