More than 3,500 people have contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), making the current outbreak the second-largest in world history, according to official figures released Friday.
The DRC's Ministry of Communication and Media reported 3,532 confirmed cases, surpassing the country's tenth major outbreak from August 2018 to June 2020, which recorded about 3,470 cases.
A total of 1,556 people have died, bringing the fatality rate to 44.1%. Currently, 807 patients are in isolation or undergoing treatment at hospitals, while 626 people have recovered.
Carl Skau, acting Executive Director of the World Food Programme, called it "the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic ever seen" and urged the world to "pay more attention."
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), less than three months since the outbreak began, the death toll is five times higher than previous outbreaks at the same stage. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the actual scale of the epidemic could be four times higher than official figures.
The current outbreak is second only to the West African Ebola epidemic of 2014-2016, which infected 28,616 people and killed 11,310 in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
The outbreak in the DRC is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus strain, for which no vaccine or treatment has been approved. Health workers are also facing insecurity and attacks on medical facilities in eastern DRC—where dozens of armed groups operate—along with cuts in foreign aid that are depleting resources.
Angele Gapio, emergency coordinator for the charity Caritas in the city of Bunia, said awareness-raising media campaigns are failing and frontline staff are exhausted. "The disease has taken root in communities. People still turn to traditional healers, and transmission chains continue."
In June, Africa CDC said $1.4 billion is needed to contain the outbreak, three times the previous estimate. The epidemic has affected five provinces of the DRC: Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tshopo.
