A milestone in a worsening outbreak
Confirmed Ebola infections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have climbed past 10,000, according to data the country's Ministry of Public Health released on Tuesday. The figures show 10,060 confirmed cases and 4,887 deaths, meaning nearly half of those infected have died, Al Jazeera reported.
The outbreak, declared on May 15, is now the fastest-growing and deadliest Ebola episode in Congo's history. Counting cases beyond Congo's borders, it is the second-largest and second-deadliest on record. Only the 2014-2016 West African epidemic was bigger, with 28,600 people infected and more than 11,000 dead within two years.
The disease is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare Ebola strain for which no vaccine or treatment has been approved. The World Health Organization announced on Friday that the first clinical trial of a vaccine had begun.
Transmission is outpacing tracking
A central worry for health authorities is that most new cases are not coming from people already on their watch lists. About 80 percent of new infections arise outside the transmission chains that officials are monitoring. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has said at least 95 percent of cases must come from known contacts before an outbreak can be considered under control.
The geographic footprint has also grown sharply. Early in the outbreak, only three health zones were affected. Cases have now been recorded in 66 zones across eight provinces.
Responders say some treatment centers are overwhelmed, while newly affected and remote areas lack supplies and staff. Many teams do not have enough vehicles, and they struggle to convince families to bring sick relatives for care or to allow safe burials. At least half of the people who died were never admitted for treatment.
Strains on health workers and routine care
The emergency has spilled into other parts of the health system. Routine services such as childhood vaccinations have been disrupted, and maternal deaths doubled in some provinces soon after the outbreak was declared, according to the report.
Labor disputes are frequent because wages and bonuses are delayed or unpaid. Last week, Ebola responders in Nia Nia, in Ituri province, stopped work over bonuses they say have been owed since late August.
Violence has added to the danger. On Saturday, attackers killed a nurse and seriously injured a colleague who were responding to a suspected case in Bafwasende, in Tshopo province, the WHO said. "Everyone working to protect communities from this deadly disease must be able to work in dignity and safety," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. Last month, a local politician, Marie-Celestin Karondwa, was fatally beaten after defending the Ebola response on the radio, his party said. The attacks come amid public mistrust and frustration with the government's handling of the crisis.
Spread to neighboring countries
Al Jazeera described the virus as having a wider cross-border reach than any earlier Ebola epidemic. In Uganda, Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced on Sunday that citizens returning from Congo must quarantine for 21 days at their own expense as a precaution. Ugandan officials say the country has no active infections after recording 20 cases, mostly imported from Congo, and two deaths over the summer.
Swiss authorities said a woman married to a Swiss diplomat was infected during a September visit to Uganda. She was diagnosed last week while visiting Nigeria, which became the fourth African country affected. Nigeria has stepped up screening at airports, and the patient was evacuated to Switzerland for treatment on Monday.
In Kenya, confirmed infections rose quickly during October. The WHO said 20 contacts of the country's first patient were released from mandatory quarantine on Monday after 21 days, while 98 others remain under monitoring. Kenya's confirmed total now stands at nine, two of them fatal.
What happens next
The newly launched vaccine trial is the first step toward a possible tool against the Bundibugyo strain, but the source material offers no timeline for results. In the meantime, responders face the task of reaching the benchmark Africa CDC has set for bringing the outbreak under control, a standard the current figures are far from meeting.
