Ebola death toll in eastern DRC exceeds 1,000 as outbreak accelerates
Official data show more than 1,000 Ebola deaths and 2,500 cases in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with the epidemic spreading faster than any previous outbreak in the country.
More than 1,000 people have died from Ebola in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, health authorities reported Thursday, bringing the total confirmed cases to 2,536 since the epidemic was declared on May 15. The death toll continues to rise as the virus spreads at an unprecedented speed.
Prime Minister Judith Suminwa is scheduled to visit the affected areas on Thursday to assess conditions, accompanied by officials from the United States and the United Nations. Aid groups say hospitals are overwhelmed and contact-tracing efforts are lagging.
"The situation is worsening day by day," said Amadou Bocoum, CARE International’s Congo director, citing gaps in funding and rapid geographic expansion of the disease.
The World Health Organization notes that the current outbreak reached 2,000 confirmed cases in two months, compared with ten months during the 2018-2019 epidemic. Ongoing armed conflict in Ituri province and large displacement camps, where more than 900,000 people reside, complicate response efforts. Mobile artisanal gold miners are also identified as a factor that could accelerate transmission.
Funding shortfalls persist. A joint $518 million response plan announced by WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control faces a gap of over $400 million, straining an already weakened health system. Health workers have staged brief strikes over unpaid wages and poor conditions, with some protesting by blocking health centers.
"We cannot continue responding to the epidemic with the same limited resources while it continues to outpace us," said Trish Newport, emergency program manager for Doctors Without Borders.
Treatment centers are at capacity, forcing some patients to remain at home while awaiting beds, raising the risk of further spread. Recent reports confirm Ebola’s reach into the provinces of Tshopo and Haut-Uele, including four deaths in Kisangani, a city of more than one million that is linked by transport routes to the capital Kinshasa.