Democratic Republic of Congo battles new Ebola outbreak as death toll reaches 80 – THIS UPDATE

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has confirmed a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the eastern province of Ituri, with authorities reporting 80 deaths and 246 suspected cases amid growing fears of regional spread.

The outbreak, confirmed last Friday by the Congolese Ministry of Health, involves the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, a less common variant that experts say could complicate containment efforts because most existing vaccines and treatments were developed primarily for the Zaire strain.

Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba revealed that laboratory samples analyzed on Thursday confirmed eight cases of the virus in Rwampara, Mongwalu and Bunia health zones.

According to the ministry, the suspected index case was a nurse who died at the Evangelical Medical Center in Bunia after developing symptoms including fever, bleeding, vomiting and severe weakness.

The Congolese government has since activated its public health emergency operations center, strengthened epidemiological and laboratory surveillance, and ordered the rapid deployment of emergency response teams to affected communities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it first received reports of suspected Ebola cases on May 5 and immediately dispatched an emergency team to Ituri to support investigations and response activities.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said initial field samples tested negative before a laboratory in Kinshasa later confirmed the positive cases on Thursday.

Tedros revealed that the number of laboratory-confirmed infections has risen to 13. He added that WHO has allocated $500,000 from its emergency fund to support surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing and clinical care operations in the affected province.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously confirmed the outbreak and warned of the risk of regional transmission due to the high movement of people between eastern Congo and neighboring countries.

The mainland health agency said deaths and suspected infections were mainly concentrated in Mongwalu and Rwampara, while further suspected cases also emerged in Bunia, the provincial capital.

CDC Africa Director General Jean Kaseya highlighted the need for urgent regional coordination involving Congo, Uganda, South Sudan and international health partners.

“Given the high population movement between affected areas and neighboring countries, rapid regional coordination is essential,” Kaseya said.

The agency noted that mining-related mobility, urban population density, and porous borders around affected communities significantly increase the possibility of further transmission.

Uganda’s Ministry of Health also confirmed that a Congolese man infected with the Bundibugyo strain has died in Kampala.

Authorities, however, clarified that the case was imported from Congo and that no local transmission has yet been recorded in Uganda.

Congolese virologist Jean-Jacques Muyembe, co-discoverer of Ebola and director of the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa, warned that identifying a non-Zairean strain could complicate containment efforts.

According to Muyembe, almost all previous Ebola outbreaks in Congo were linked to the Zaire strain, making the current Bundibugyo variant relatively rare in the country.

He explained that most available vaccines and therapies were designed specifically against the Zaire strain, potentially limiting their effectiveness against the newly identified variant.

This is the 17th Ebola outbreak in Congo since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976.

The most recent outbreak in the country, which occurred in Kasai province, was officially declared over on December 1, after three months. That outbreak recorded 64 cases, including 45 deaths and 19 recoveries.