Ebola Spreads Across DRC And Has Killed More Than 3,300 People

According to local authorities, the new case was confirmed following tests on a suspected patient, who later died after travelling through several provinces before arriving in Sud-Ubangui.

At least 38 people who had contact with the patient have been identified and placed in quarantine.

The patient reportedly began showing symptoms in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo Province, after travelling through Rwanda, Uganda and Ituri Province, one of the areas most affected by the current outbreak.

The patient also passed through Lisala, in Mongala Province, raising fears of possible new transmission chains along the travel route.

The DRC officially declared the current outbreak in May. It is the country’s 17th recorded Ebola outbreak.

According to the latest figures from Congolese authorities, the outbreak has caused 3,310 deaths and 6,843 confirmed cases.

The epidemic began in Ituri Province and has since spread to other parts of the east and north of the country, many of them affected by poor access, instability and limited health-response capacity.

The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is currently no widely available specific treatment.

The World Health Organization is supporting the development of two vaccines that have entered phase one human trials. Early results are considered promising, although the development process could still take several months.

The current outbreak is now considered the second deadliest in history, surpassing the Ebola epidemic recorded in the DRC between 2018 and 2020.

The outbreak also spread to neighbouring Uganda, where 20 confirmed cases were recorded, including 15 imported from the DRC. Uganda declared the end of its outbreak on 26 August.

The spread of the disease to another province has renewed concerns about the risk of further expansion, particularly because of the movement of people between provinces and across international borders.