Ebola outbreak in Congo is deadliest in the country's history

The government says the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now the deadliest in the country's history.

So far, 2,325 people have died from the deadly virus, according to the Institute of Public Health. In what was previously the largest Ebola outbreak in Congo, 2,299 patients died between 2018 and 2020.

According to the institute, the number of confirmed cases rose to 4,945. This is the 17th documented Ebola outbreak in the Central African country with around 112 million inhabitants. The only major global outbreak of the viral disease was in West Africa, when more than 28,500 cases were registered in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone between 2014 and 2016 and 11,310 people died.

Worry about rapid spread

The World Health Organization (WHO) fears that the current outbreak in Congo could reach unprecedented proportions: During the first three months of the current outbreak, the number of cases and deaths was already several times higher than the comparable number in the first three months of the outbreak in West Africa.

The current outbreak in Congo became known in mid-May. It is particularly difficult to contain because it is the Ebola pathogen of the Bundibugyo type, for which there is currently neither a specific vaccine nor a specific therapy. Clinical testing of two antiviral therapy procedures has been underway since the beginning of July. Given the severity of the outbreak, it should also be clarified whether the pathogen may have mutated.

Ebola fever is a life-threatening disease. The virus is transmitted through physical contact and contact with body fluids and causes a highly contagious fever with diarrhea and bleeding.