Congo Ebola outbreak tops 11,000 cases as conflict hampers response

The Democratic Republic of Congo's latest Ebola outbreak has surpassed 11,000 confirmed cases and 5,300 deaths, according to government data released on Wednesday. It is the country's 17th Ebola episode and the fastest-growing, reaching 1,000 cases within 40 days of the response activation, compared with 235 days for the 2018 outbreak.

Health authorities say the spread is being fueled by ongoing armed conflict in the Ituri and North Kivu provinces, a strained health system, poor road infrastructure and mistrust among residents. Unpaid salaries and strikes by health workers have halted operations at screening checkpoints, river ports, municipal borders and airports, the Health Ministry reported.

The ministry warned that rumors and refusal of health screenings, resistance to safe burials and reduced attendance at health facilities are major obstacles, sometimes leading to violence against medical personnel and the closure of response points, including in Ituri, the outbreak's epicentre.

There is currently no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo virus responsible for the outbreak, though two vaccine candidates have entered trials. The World Health Organization backed a candidate from the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India, and another from Moderna, with trials led by Congo's National Institute for Biomedical Research.

"Vaccines are powerful tools, but they’re not substitutes for the proven measures that can save lives now," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference announcing the trials on 4 November, emphasizing early care, contact tracing, isolation, safe burials and trusted community engagement.

The outbreak follows dozens of Ebola incidents recorded since the disease was first identified in 1976, the largest of which occurred in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, causing 28,000 infections and more than 11,000 deaths.