DRC faces expanding Ebola crisis across six provinces
DRC faces expanding Ebola crisis across six provinces
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is grappling with its most devastating Ebola outbreak to date, now spreading to a sixth province in the northern region and threatening to cross into neighboring South Sudan. Health authorities declared the 17th Ebola epidemic on May 15, though it had already begun weeks earlier.
The current outbreak has claimed over 2,128 lives out of 4,566 confirmed cases within just three months—a stark contrast to the 2,300 deaths recorded over 20 months during the country’s previous deadliest outbreak between 2018 and 2020.
Expanding geographic reach
Until recently, five provinces were affected: Ituri (bordering Uganda and South Sudan), North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, and Tshopo. However, a fatal case has now been confirmed in Bas-Uélé, a previously unaffected province bordering the Central African Republic, according to Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
The patient had traveled from Haut-Uélé, where cases were already reported, highlighting the rapid geographic expansion of the virus.
Unprecedented global spread
Africa CDC officials have described this outbreak as spreading at an unprecedented pace worldwide. In the first three months alone, the number of cases and deaths in the DRC has already exceeded sevenfold and fivefold, respectively, compared to the same period during the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak—the deadliest on record.
Risk of regional spillover
International aid organization Mercy Corps has warned that the virus is now just 35 kilometers from the South Sudanese border, traveling along high-risk movement corridors. The proximity raises serious concerns about cross-border transmission.
Challenges in containment
Efforts to control the outbreak are severely hampered by overwhelmed health services, limited access to clean water and sanitation, eroding public trust, and persistent insecurity. In the North and South Kivu provinces, ongoing conflict between government forces and the M23 rebel group—allegedly backed by Rwanda—has further disrupted containment efforts.
Despite these obstacles, health authorities announced the end of the Ebola epidemic in South Kivu this week after 42 days without new cases.
Ongoing vigilance
A suspected Ebola-related death was reported on a boat traveling the Congo River toward Kinshasa in early August. However, no additional cases were detected among passengers, who were permitted to disembark near the capital.
Ebola, transmitted through contact with bodily fluids, causes severe hemorrhagic fever and has killed more than 15,000 people across Africa over the past five decades.