The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 1,000 confirmed cases as of June 22, making it the second largest Ebola outbreak on record and the fastest-spreading in history, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
DR Congo’s Ministry of Health confirmed 1,003 infections and 254 deaths since the outbreak was declared on May 15 in the northeastern Ituri province, with a fatality rate of 25 percent. At least 365 patients remain hospitalised or in isolation, while only 100 have recovered.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, a rare variant for which no approved vaccine or specific treatment exists. Contact tracing remains critically inadequate, with authorities reaching only 55 percent coverage and more than 35,000 exposed individuals still untraced.
Armed attacks by the Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Forces in Ituri have cut off access to affected villages and forced tens of thousands to flee into overcrowded displacement camps, where disease transmission risks are acute. The UN refugee agency warns that at least 2 million forcibly displaced people, including over 320,000 refugees, currently live in areas at risk of infection across the region.
The virus has also crossed into Uganda, where 20 cases and two deaths have been recorded, though Kampala has described the situation as under control. African health experts have warned that the speed of spread across three provinces could eventually see the outbreak surpass the 2014 to 2016 West Africa epidemic, which killed more than 11,000 people.
