Ebola Returns to Eastern DR Congo: 'Heartbreaking' as Panic Spreads

Just six years after the worst Ebola outbreak in Congo’s history ended, the deadly virus has returned to the country’s east, plunging residents into panic and mourning.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a 'public health emergency of international concern' after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths were recorded in Congo, along with two fatalities in neighboring Uganda. The majority of cases and deaths are concentrated in Ituri province, a commercial hub and transit point bordering Uganda and South Sudan.

Gloire Mumbesa, 38, a resident of the mining town of Mongbwalu, said: 'On public transport, in bars, and at large gatherings, everyone is talking about Ebola. The fear is that this disease could spread to other areas.' He noted that cases have been reported locally and panic is gripping the region due to a lack of vaccines for the Bundibudyo strain.

Dieudonné Lossadekana, 51, a civil society coordinator in Bunia, where the first suspected case was reported, shared: 'We are shocked by the return of Ebola to our area. We have recorded dozens of deaths. For us, it’s heartbreaking.'

The economic impact of the outbreak is a major concern. Residents fear authorities may impose restrictions that would prevent them from earning a living in a region already ravaged by armed conflict and financial hardship. Claude Kasuna, 48, from the Irumu territory, said: 'We live in an area of widespread poverty, where people scrape by day to day. When a health emergency like this hits, it deals a heavy blow to our economy.'

According to the WHO, the first healthcare worker considered a suspected case developed symptoms including fever, hemorrhage, and vomiting on April 24 and died at a health center in Bunia. Former Mongbwalu mayor Jean Pierre Badombo said people began falling ill in mid-April after a large open-coffin funeral procession from Bunia. 'After that, we experienced a wave of deaths,' he said.

Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba announced the government will open three Ebola treatment centers in Ituri. The WHO Regional Office for Africa reported that 35 experts and seven tons of emergency medical supplies have arrived in Bunia. A case was also reported in the rebel-controlled city of Goma, involving a woman who traveled from Bunia to where her husband died of the disease.

Heather Kerr, country director for the International Rescue Committee in Congo, said the ongoing conflict makes containing Ebola 'much harder.' She stated: 'Years of conflict and displacement in eastern Congo have exhausted health systems. With dozens of lives lost and a health system already overwhelmed, we need swift action.'

Manenji Mangundu, Oxfam’s country director in Congo, described the outbreak as 'striking a country already pushed to the brink of collapse' due to ongoing conflicts and years of aid cuts.

This is Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak. The worst in the country’s history, from August 2018 to June 2020, caused over 2,000 deaths, concentrated in North Kivu and Ituri. The current outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which no approved treatment or vaccine exists. Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum, director general of Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research, said several candidate compounds for a Bundibugyo vaccine are expected to enter trials by late May or June.

In Ituri, authorities face stigma, misconceptions, and persistent rumors about Ebola, much like during previous outbreaks. Kasuna from Irumu said: 'Our people tend to believe false myths rather than scientific evidence. We need to raise awareness to save lives.'