Ebola outbreak kills over 1,500 in Congo

The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak has killed more than 1,500 people in eastern Congo, official data released on Thursday showed, marking a 50 per cent increase in around a week that shows the emergency continuing to outpace response efforts.

As of Tuesday, 3,442 cases had been recorded, with 1,521 deaths, according to the latest Government update. The outbreak, which was declared on May 15, has been linked to the Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

There are currently 797 patients in isolation or hospitalised, while a further 615 patients have recovered, the data showed. Contact tracing continues to lag, with only around 78 per cent of known contacts monitored nationwide, well below the 95 per cent target health officials say is needed to interrupt transmission.

The outbreak is mostly concentrated in eastern Congo’s remote Ituri province, which accounts for nearly 90 per cent of cases, but there have been other confirmed cases in five provinces, including one of the country’s largest cities, Kisangani.

Neighbouring Uganda declared itself free of Ebola on Tuesday following the discharge of the country’s last patient in mid-June.

Ebola is rare, but highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen.

The disease it causes is severe and often fatal. The latest outbreak has killed more people at a quicker rate than any previous outbreak, including in 2014-2016, when 28,000 cases were reported, of which over 11,000 people died. That outbreak took about eight months to reach 1,000 deaths.

The speed of transmission in the current outbreak comes amid public concern that many communities in the affected provinces are either unreachable or have been abandoned by responders in recent days over safety concerns amid attacks from angry residents and rebels.

International partners supporting the Ebola response in Ituri’s Nyakunde health zone temporarily withdrew after a July 15 attack on a hospital and a treatment centre, sparked by a patient’s death.

Officials say the withdrawal of aid groups, including the World Health Organisation, Africa CDC, Samaritan’s Purse and Mercy Corps, has disrupted surveillance, contact tracing and supplies.

Local health officials say security has since stabilised and are urging partners to return, with Africa CDC saying teams could redeploy as soon as next week.