Congo Ebola Deaths Hit 131 With Over 500 Suspected Cases

West Africa WeeklyMay 19, 20262 Mins read18

The death toll from the latest Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 131 suspected deaths, the Congolese health ministry said on Tuesday, as the World Health Organization expressed deep concern over the scale and speed of the epidemic.

The ministry reported 513 suspected cases across the affected region, marking a sharp increase from figures released just a day earlier. Health experts warned that the virus likely spread undetected for several weeks, delaying response efforts and complicating containment measures.

The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, a rare variant for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment, according to Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba. This strain has a fatality rate that can reach up to 50 percent.

EMERGENCY DECLARATION AND CROSS BORDER SPREAD

The WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Sunday, after cases were confirmed not only in Ituri province but also in the neighboring North Kivu province, including the rebel held city of Goma. The presence of the virus in Goma, a densely populated urban center of more than one million people on the Rwandan border, has raised regional alarm.

Rwanda closed key border crossings with the DRC on Sunday, paralyzing movement across one of the busiest checkpoints between the two countries. The East African Community has urged its member states to heighten surveillance and strengthen cross border preparedness.

International spread has already been documented. Uganda reported confirmed cases in individuals who had recently traveled from the DRC, including one death.

DELAYED RESPONSE AND COMPLEX CHALLENGES

Congo’s health ministry said the first person is believed to have died from the virus on April 24 in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province. However, initial tests conducted for the more common Zaire strain of Ebola came back negative, leading local authorities to assume the disease was not Ebola. It was not until May 5, following the alert of around 50 deaths including four health workers, that further testing was initiated. The first confirmation of Ebola came on May 14.

The response is further complicated by a volatile security environment in eastern Congo. Nearly 10 million people across the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu are facing crisis levels of hunger, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has reported, straining an already fragile health system.

RESPONSE MOBILIZED

The WHO has sent five tonnes of medical supplies to the DRC and released half a million dollars from its contingency fund for emergencies. UNICEF has activated its highest emergency classification to support a large scale response, mobilizing nearly 50 tonnes of infection prevention supplies and deploying over 2,000 community health workers.

Health authorities are racing to contain the outbreak, but the lack of an approved vaccine or therapeutic treatment for the Bundibugyo strain remains a critical obstacle. The WHO is convening an emergency committee of experts to evaluate potential response strategies.