An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has so far killed 65 people, health officials say. Authorities have recorded 246 suspected cases concentrated in Ituri province.
Ituri borders Uganda and South Sudan. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) warned that the risk of wider spread is high, noting that mining towns in the area see frequent movement of people, which complicates efforts to contain infectious diseases.
Ebola is a severe haemorrhagic fever with a high fatality rate that spreads through direct contact with infected body fluids — for example blood or vomit — and through contact with the bodies of people who have died, including during funeral preparations.
The DRC’s national laboratory has detected Ebola virus in 13 of 20 samples tested, Africa CDC reported. The country has experienced 16 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified there in 1976.
Most previous outbreaks in the DRC involved the Zaire strain, for which vaccines exist. Early testing in this episode suggests the virus may be a different type; fuller genetic sequencing results were expected within 24 hours.
Africa CDC said it was convening an urgent coordination meeting with officials from the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan, the World Health Organization and pharmaceutical companies. Dr Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa CDC, said the agency stood with the DRC and stressed that “given the high population movement between affected areas and neighbouring countries, rapid regional coordination is essential.”
Reported cases are mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, with suspected infections also noted in nearby Bunia.
Dr Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton, said repeated Ebola outbreaks in the DRC likely reflect a combination of factors: close human contact with animal reservoirs (most likely bats, and possibly primates), frequent movement between rural and urban areas, a tropical climate and large rainforest areas.
For context, the 2014–2016 West Africa Ebola epidemic resulted in about 28,000 cases and 11,000 deaths, illustrating how destructive the virus can be when it spreads widely.
