Ebola cases in DRC hit 5,515 as Pope Leo urges global action to save lives

As of the latest update, the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reached 5,515 confirmed cases and has caused the deaths of 2,642 individuals, marking it as the deadliest outbreak in the country's history. The most recent figures, released on Sunday, detailed 51 new cases detected in Ituri and North Kivu provinces.

Pope Leo recently called for international action to aid in containing the epidemic, which is currently the WHO's highest alert level, encompassing neighboring Uganda. This outbreak, declared in mid-May, is the DRC's 17th Ebola epidemic and is on track to surpass the 2014–2016 West African outbreak, which claimed over 11,000 lives.

The case fatality rate has worsened from approximately 20 percent in early June to nearly 48 percent, indicating that nearly half of those infected are succumbing to the disease. However, contact tracing efforts have notably improved, from 30 percent in June to more than 85 percent. The disease has proven particularly deadly for those working to control it, with around 160 healthcare workers infected and about 45 losing their lives to the virus, according to the WHO.

Containment efforts have been complicated by ongoing armed conflict, displacement, attacks on medical personnel and facilities, a mobile workforce, and inadequate infrastructure.

Despite the severity of the situation, there is no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which is less common than the virus type responsible for most past outbreaks. The WHO has pledged 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, which has proven effective in past Ebola outbreaks. Early animal trial data suggests the vaccine could offer some protection against the Bundibugyo strain.

Currently, 16,250 doses of the vaccine have arrived in the DRC. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other officials have emphasized the need to scale up the response, both in the DRC and abroad, by two to three times to effectively contain the outbreak and reach every affected area. They have also urged for increased support and protection for front-line health workers, including appropriate gear, timely payment, and access to rapid diagnosis and high-quality supportive care should they become ill.

Abdulsalami Nasidi, a public health consultant who played a role in establishing the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, described the outbreak as "getting out of hand," attributing the ongoing transmission to weak infection control measures and a lack of trust between authorities and affected communities. Nasidi warned that the outbreak is no longer just a national or regional issue but a global concern, emphasizing that if it spreads to neighboring regions with lower immunity, it could result in a disaster.

The WHO currently rates the global public health risk as low, but stresses that the danger inside the DRC remains very high.