Alarm bells are ringing in the Democratic Republic of Congo as its latest Ebola outbreak has claimed more than 2,500 lives and is spreading “out of control,” Médecins Sans Frontières has warned.
Congo’s 17th Ebola epidemic became the biggest in the country’s history in terms of the number of cases in late July, overtaking the previous worst outbreak that ran from 2018 to 2020.
The current surge is being driven by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.
Jacob Burns, project coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders), said the outbreak is “out of control.”
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he described it as the “fastest moving Ebola epidemic that we’ve seen.”
“In the first 100 days of this outbreak, we saw so many cases… compared to the outbreak in West Africa, which was the biggest up until now, but that outbreak only had a quarter of the number of cases that we’re seeing in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said.
Mr Burns said the outbreak is “moving very rapidly,” with infections now appearing in multiple parts of the DRC.
“It has spread to six provinces, including provinces that weren’t touched in the last big epidemic here in 2018 to 2020 and what we’re seeing is that the epidemic is unfortunately out of control,” he said.
He added that recent conflict has complicated efforts to reach communities where transmission continues, and that health pressures extend far beyond Ebola, with other viruses in the region — including malaria — also creating serious problems.
Mr Burns said far more resources must be directed toward building and strengthening a surveillance system capable of tracking cases quickly enough to rein in the outbreak.
“There is a lot of fear for people; this was an area that was affected by the last epidemic and a lot of people died here, so people do have the memory of the death that the last epidemic caused”.
Yesterday, Pope Leo XIV appealed for international action to limit the damage caused by the epidemic.
“In my prayers, I often remember the Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly in light of the spread of the Ebola epidemic, which is sadly claiming many lives,” the pontiff said during Mass in Saint Peter’s Square.
“I urge the international community to respond in a way that also involves local communities in prevention efforts to save as many lives as possible,” he said.
More than 16,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine arrived in the DR of Congo on Friday night.
The vaccine, developed by the pharmaceutical company Merck, is approved against the Zaire strain of the virus, but not against the Bundibugyo strain.
World Health Organization experts still do not know whether Ervebo protects humans against the Bundibugyo strain, but early data, notably from animal trials, suggest it could offer some protection.
Additional reporting AFP/Reuters
