Ebola outbreak in Congo is killing dozens, possibly infecting hundreds, Africa’s CDC says

Kinshasa, Congo – The Africa CDC, the continent’s top public health organization, on Friday confirmed a new outbreak of Ebola in the remote province of Congo, Ituri, with a reported 246 cases and 65 deaths so far.

The deaths and suspected cases were recorded mainly in health centers in Mongwalu and Rwampara, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.

The Ebola virus is highly contagious and can be acquired through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen. The disease it causes is rare but severe, and often fatal.

“It has been reported that four people have died among laboratory-confirmed cases. Suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, pending confirmation,” said the agency, referring to the provincial capital of Ituri, near the border with Uganda.

It said preliminary laboratory results had detected the Ebola virus in 13 of the 20 samples tested.

The latest outbreak comes five months after the last Ebola outbreak in Congo killed 43 people.

Ituri is located in the remote eastern part of Congo characterized by a network of bad roads and more than 620 miles from the country’s capital Kinshasa.

The Africa CDC said it is concerned about the risk of spread due to large population movements, mining-related mobility in Mongwalu, insecurity in affected areas, gaps in contact lists and regulatory challenges.

The proximity of the affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan also raises concerns, it said.

The agency said it is calling an urgent high-level coordination meeting on Friday with health authorities in Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, as well as key partners including UN agencies and other countries.

“The meeting will focus on immediate priorities, border crossing coordination, surveillance, laboratory support, infection prevention and control, risk communication, safe and dignified burial, and pooling resources,” the statement said.

This is the seventeenth outbreak in Congo since the disease first appeared in the country in 1976. The Ebola outbreak from 2018 to 2020 in eastern Congo killed more than a thousand people.

A previous outbreak in West Africa from 2014 to 2016 also killed more than 11,000 people.

The new outbreak will cause further concern in the Central African country, which is battling various armed groups in the east, including the M23 rebel group, which launched a rapid offensive in January last year and has taken over key cities.

Ituri in particular is also fighting violence from the Allied Democratic Force, an ISIS-linked militant group that has killed dozens there and in other parts of the east.

Congo, Africa’s second largest country in terms of land area, often faces challenges in dealing with disease outbreaks. During last year’s outbreak, which lasted three months, the World Health Organization initially faced major challenges in delivering vaccines due to poor access and lack of funding.