Ebola cases in eastern Congo rise to 782, deaths reach 181

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 782, with 181 deaths, the country’s Ministry of Health said in a statement on X on Sunday evening.

Officials warned the true toll is likely higher. The outbreak was only confirmed on 15 May, weeks after it is thought to have begun, and contact tracing coverage has fallen to 56%, a sharp decline from last week.

This outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment. That contrasts with the Zaire strain, responsible for the majority of Congo’s previous 16 outbreaks, which does have experimental countermeasures. Fifty-six people have recovered so far, and the ministry put the current case fatality rate at 23%.

More than 90% of cases are concentrated in Ituri province in eastern Congo. A smaller number have been recorded in North Kivu and South Kivu, and infections have crossed the border into Uganda.

Humanitarian and public health efforts are being hampered by the region’s insecurity and displacement. Nearly a million people have been driven from their homes in Ituri by conflict, complicating contact tracing as residents flee attacks or move frequently across a vast area of dense forest, poor roads and remote villages. The highly mobile population of artisanal miners, who regularly travel between isolated sites in the mineral rich region, also poses tracing challenges.

Responders face additional obstacles from attacks on health workers, local scepticism and ongoing armed fighting in hot spots.

Last month US officials said Washington planned to send Americans exposed to Ebola abroad to a facility in Kenya rather than repatriating them, proposing a centre at Laikipia Air Base with 50 quarantine beds. The plan provoked protests and was later halted by the courts.

(Inputs from AP)