The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recorded more than 130 deaths from the Ebola outbreak that is mainly affecting the east of the country, while health authorities and international organizations are intensifying efforts to contain a disease that continues to spread to new areas and has already generated concern at a continental level.
According to the most recent data released by the Congolese Ministry of Health, the country has accumulated hundreds of confirmed cases of the disease caused by the Bundibugyo variant of the Ebola virus. The outbreak is mainly concentrated in the Ituri province, although infections have also been detected in North Kivu and South Kivu.
Official figures indicate that the number of confirmed cases has increased rapidly over the last few weeks. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reported that as of June 10, there were 676 confirmed cases and 136 deaths related to the disease, while hundreds of people remained under medical observation or isolation.
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The situation has raised alarms among international organizations. The Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Jean Kaseya, warned that the current outbreak could become one of the most serious recorded on the continent if the health response and contact tracing are not rapidly strengthened.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the epidemic presents additional challenges because it is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or widely available specific treatments. Furthermore, the outbreak is occurring in a region affected by armed conflict, population displacement, and limitations in healthcare infrastructure.
The authorities have also confirmed the cross-border spread of the disease into Uganda, where several cases linked to travelers from Congolese territory have been detected. The WHO and other international partners are maintaining epidemiological surveillance operations, contact tracing, and community awareness campaigns to try to curb the spread of the virus.
Faced with the deteriorating situation, G7 leaders and international organizations have called for a coordinated response and increased resources to prevent the outbreak from reaching dimensions similar to the major Ebola epidemics recorded in West Africa during the last decade.
