Congo's Ebola outbreak records one of its highest weekly death tolls yet
More than 300 people died of Ebola in eastern Congo in the past week, one of the highest weekly tolls yet, government data showed Monday, as health workers struggle to catch up with an outbreak that is spreading at unprecedented speed.
In eastern Congo, a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak has claimed over 300 lives in the past week, marking one of the highest weekly death tolls on record, according to government data released on Monday. As of Saturday, the outbreak had recorded a total of 5,514 cases and 2,642 deaths, with 317 deaths reported within the preceding seven days. However, Congolese experts have raised concerns that the outbreak may be three times larger than currently documented.
This outbreak is the fastest-growing in history, with a significant number of fatalities occurring outside of treatment centers. It has already surpassed the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, which had the highest number of fatalities in history, with over 11,000 deaths.
The hardest-hit region is Ituri province, where nearly half of the infected individuals have succumbed to the virus, resulting in a fatality rate of 47.9%. However, in North Kivu province, the fatality rate is even higher at 68.6%. One of the main challenges in containing the outbreak is the lack of approved vaccines and treatments for the Bundibugyo virus responsible for the current outbreak.
In a hopeful development, Congo received over 16,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, which has been effective in past Ebola outbreaks caused by different, more common types. The World Health Organization acknowledges that the Ervebo vaccine may offer some protection against the Bundibugyo virus, based on early laboratory and animal data. However, it is unclear when the vaccine will be made available to frontline workers in the affected areas.
Local residents in Ituri have expressed optimism about the vaccine's arrival, stating their frustration with the daily emergence of new Ebola cases. The outbreak is taking place in some of the most challenging conditions, including threats from rebels, intense population movements, poor infrastructure, and misinformation that questions the reality of the virus.
Experts believe that the virus may have been spreading in the mining town of Mongbwalu as early as February, months before the outbreak was officially declared on May 15.
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