DR Congo Ebola Outbreak Becomes Deadliest In Country’s History

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has become the deadliest in the country’s history, with public health officials reporting more than 2,300 deaths since the outbreak was declared in May.

A BBC report revealed that a total of 2,325 people had been killed by the virus, surpassing the death toll recorded during the country’s 2018-2020 outbreak.

The outbreak was already the fastest-growing on record, according to UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, who last week warned that “the epidemic is killing someone every 30 minutes”.

There is currently no approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo species of Ebola responsible for the current outbreak, although several vaccines are in development, including one based on the technology used to develop the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

DR Congo’s Institute of Public Health said on Sunday that it had recorded 4,945 confirmed cases, including 101 new cases in the previous 24 hours.

Relatively few cases have been reported outside the country. As of August 12, 20 cases had been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda, while two people had been treated in Germany and one case had been reported in France.

The World Health Organisation has described the pace of transmission in DR Congo as “exceptional”, with the virus spreading to six of the country’s 26 provinces.

According to Reuters, it took almost five months for the world’s deadliest Ebola outbreak, which occurred in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, to reach 1,000 deaths. The current outbreak reached 2,000 deaths in just three months, although researchers believe the virus may have been spreading undetected since February.

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The outbreak is the 17th recorded in DR Congo since Ebola was discovered 50 years ago. Years of conflict and a highly mobile population have further complicated efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

The WHO has said it hopes to reverse the spread of the disease within three months, while clarifying that the target means bringing transmission under control rather than completely ending the outbreak.

Ebola is a rare but potentially fatal viral disease, while the Bundibugyo species responsible for the current outbreak is particularly uncommon, with only two previous outbreaks known to have occurred.

Symptoms can resemble those of flu or malaria and include fever, headache and tiredness. They can appear suddenly between two and 21 days after infection.

As the disease progresses, patients may develop vomiting and diarrhoea, which can lead to organ failure. The virus spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids, including blood and vomit.

The UK’s medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, has approved the first human trials of a vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo species.

The vaccine is being developed by a team at the University of Oxford using the same technology employed in the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Three other groups are also developing vaccines targeting Bundibugyo Ebola.

The WHO is separately sponsoring a clinical trial in DR Congo to determine whether two existing antiviral treatments can improve survival rates among patients.