BUNIA, Congo — The Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has resulted in over 1,700 deaths, marking it as the fastest-growing outbreak of the disease. Health officials struggle to keep pace with its spread, and patient zero remains unidentified.
As of the latest government update on Tuesday, there were 3,802 recorded cases and 1,707 fatalities.
Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, during his second visit to Bunia near the outbreak’s epicenter in Ituri province, stated that the peak of the outbreak remains uncertain.
Kaseya noted that 60-70% of new cases result from community spread, rather than contact tracing, a method used to track those exposed to a confirmed case.
“Contact tracing is not working,” Kaseya remarked, highlighting concerns about the outbreak’s trajectory, which is already the world’s second largest on record.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, was expected to arrive in Kinshasa, Congo’s capital, on Tuesday, with plans to visit Bunia later in the week.
The outbreak, declared on May 15, is associated with the Bundibugyo virus, for which no approved vaccines or treatments currently exist. The Africa CDC cites challenges such as delays in contact tracing, inaccessible areas, community mistrust, and violence by armed groups and residents as obstacles to the response.
Two clinical trials for post-exposure prophylaxis drugs are underway in Ituri province, alongside two separate vaccine trials in the United Kingdom and Canada.
While the outbreak is primarily centered in the remote Ituri province, accounting for almost 90% of cases, it has also spread to five other provinces, including Kisangani, one of the largest cities in the country.
Uganda, a neighboring country, declared itself free of Ebola after its last patient was discharged in mid-June.
A significant issue remains the unidentified patient zero, while displacement due to conflict and illegal mining complicates efforts to trace thousands who may have been exposed to the virus.
The World Health Organization reported on Tuesday that it is monitoring over 17,000 potential contacts, with nearly 80% being observed daily.
Mohamed Janabi, WHO’s regional director for Africa, stated that the agency is now testing over 2,000 samples daily, a significant increase from the previous 20.
On Monday, health care workers in Mongbwalu, a severely affected town, issued an ultimatum over unpaid wages, threatening further action if not addressed within 24 hours.
Earlier, health care workers in Bunia went on strike due to unpaid salaries and unsafe working conditions. The WHO reports that more than 100 health care workers have contracted the virus since the outbreak began.
This outbreak is proving deadlier than previous ones, including the 2014-2016 outbreak that saw 28,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths, reaching 1,000 fatalities in about eight months.
The response efforts face additional challenges such as funding shortages, attacks on health centers, ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, and local community mistrust.
Enrollment has recently started in a promising study of two potential Ebola treatments in Ituri.
— Prosper Heri Ngorora, Constant Same Bagalwa, and Wilson McMakin
