The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surged to 3,200 confirmed cases and more than 1,400 deaths in just over 10 weeks, approaching the total caseload recorded during the country’s 2018-2020 epidemic, as insecurity and gaps in healthcare hamper efforts to contain the virus.
The latest outbreak has already reached about 96% of the 3,323 confirmed cases reported during the nearly two-year 2018-2020 epidemic, one of the world’s deadliest Ebola outbreaks. Health workers say ongoing conflict, mistrust of authorities and limited access to healthcare, clean water and sanitation are allowing the virus to spread faster than response teams can contain it.
Humanitarian agency Mercy Corps said unrest in eastern Congo’s Nyakunde Health Zone forced it to suspend in-person Ebola response activities for nearly two weeks after protests erupted following the death of a pregnant woman whose local health facility was unable to provide the care she needed.
The disruption halted community engagement, infection prevention campaigns, mental health support and follow-up for suspected Ebola cases that would normally reach more than 1,800 people each week. It also interrupted water and sanitation activities, including the installation and maintenance of handwashing stations and water storage facilities. Mercy Corps said its Ebola response continues in other areas where security conditions allow teams to operate safely.
“The fact that, in just ten weeks, we have reached nearly the same number of cases recorded over an almost two-year outbreak is alarming and should stop us in our tracks. There is no doubt that the virus is moving faster than we can contain it,” Onesphore Bangenza, Mercy Corps’ Ebola Response Team Leader in Bunia told Impact Newswire on Tuesday.
“We have seen a real improvement in people’s understanding of Ebola over the past month, but those gains are fragile. When basic healthcare is unavailable, insecurity interrupts humanitarian assistance, or essential prevention infrastructure is lost, frustration, rumours, and fear can quickly resurface. Every interruption risks undoing hard-won gains and giving the virus more room to spread,” he said.
“Frontline health workers, safe and dignified burial teams, and local responders must be able to work safely and have the resources to respond to what people need. That requires urgent, flexible funding that reaches communities, as well as protection for the people delivering the response. Without safe access, reliable basic services, and stronger community trust, transmission will continue to outpace the response.”
Eastern Congo has experienced repeated Ebola outbreaks over the past decade, with response efforts often complicated by armed conflict, attacks on health workers and widespread public mistrust. The country’s 2018-2020 epidemic lasted 694 days, infected 3,323 people and killed 2,299, making it the world’s second-deadliest Ebola outbreak after the West African epidemic of 2014-2016.
The United Nations has warned that unsafe burial practices and delays in conducting safe and dignified burials remain among the factors driving Ebola transmission, particularly in areas where mistrust of health authorities persists and access for response teams is limited.
Mercy Corps said two of its handwashing stations were destroyed and two 240-litre water tanks removed during the unrest in Lengabo village. The suspension also delayed psychological support for Ebola patients and bereaved families, community awareness sessions and monitoring of nearly 100 suspected Ebola cases in Nyakunde and neighbouring Sota.
The humanitarian organization said it has expanded its response in Bunia and Rwampara health zones and is preparing to extend operations into additional outbreak hotspots. Its activities include community engagement, water trucking, infection prevention, risk communication through local radio, psychosocial support, and integrating protection and conflict mitigation into the Ebola response.
Aid agencies have also reported that some Ebola patients have fled treatment centres in search of food and other basic necessities, highlighting the humanitarian conditions complicating efforts to isolate cases and prevent further infections.
Ongoing insecurity, mistrust and serious gaps in healthcare, water and sanitation continue to interrupt response and containment efforts, delay treatment and prevent lifesaving assistance from reaching affected communities. Humanitarian organizations say response teams are finding it increasingly difficult to reach communities safely, consistently and early enough to stop chains of transmission.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has increased estimates of the funding required to strengthen Ebola preparedness and response across the continent to $14 billion, warning that sustained investment is needed to improve disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, emergency operations and healthcare systems capable of responding to repeated outbreaks.
The United Nations has also warned that prolonged Ebola outbreaks could cost African economies an estimated $3.6 billion through reduced trade, tourism, agricultural production and broader economic disruption, underscoring the financial consequences of delayed containment.
The European Union has committed €493 million to strengthen Ebola preparedness and response efforts across Africa, supporting disease surveillance, laboratory systems, vaccination campaigns and emergency response capacity as governments confront recurring outbreaks.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified near the Ebola River in 1976. Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people or contaminated materials and causes severe haemorrhagic fever. Vaccines and treatments have improved survival rates in recent years, but rapid detection, isolation of patients, contact tracing and community trust remain critical to containing outbreaks.
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