Ebola Outbreak Kills 65 In Eastern DR Congo As Africa CDC Raises Alarm

Africa CDC confirms 246 Ebola cases and 65 deaths in eastern DR Congo, raising fears of regional spread.

Africa’s top public health agency has declared an Ebola outbreak in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), with at least 65 people reported dead and 246 cases recorded in Ituri province.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) announced Friday that the outbreak is concentrated mainly in the gold-mining towns of Mongwalu and Rwampara, sparking concerns over possible cross-border transmission.

The agency said it had convened an emergency meeting involving DR Congo, Uganda, South Sudan, and international health partners to coordinate response efforts and strengthen surveillance along border communities.

According to Africa CDC, preliminary laboratory tests conducted by the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) in Kinshasa confirmed the Ebola virus in 13 out of 20 analysed samples following consultations with DR Congo’s Ministry of Health and National Public Institute.

Authorities are still conducting further tests to determine the specific strain of the virus.

Africa CDC disclosed that four of the recorded deaths occurred among laboratory-confirmed Ebola patients, while additional suspected cases have emerged in Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri, pending confirmation.

The health agency warned that the outbreak poses a high risk of wider transmission due to the urban nature of affected areas and the movement of miners and traders across neighbouring countries.

Executive Director of Africa CDC, Dr. Jean Kaseya, said significant population movement between affected communities and neighbouring states made regional coordination critical to containing the outbreak.

Ebola, first identified in 1976 in what is now DR Congo, is believed to have originated from bats and spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids or broken skin.

The disease causes symptoms including fever, muscle pain, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhoea, bleeding, and organ failure. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Ebola has an average fatality rate of about 50 per cent.

This marks the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in DR Congo. The country’s deadliest outbreak occurred between 2018 and 2020, when nearly 2,300 people died.

The Congolese government had yet to officially declare the outbreak as of Friday, although officials indicated that a formal briefing was expected later in the day.

Ituri province has remained under military administration since 2021 amid prolonged insecurity linked to armed groups, including the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which is affiliated with the Islamic State group.