The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has surpassed 5,000 recorded cases, with 5,021 infections and 2,378 deaths confirmed as of Sunday, marking a sharp escalation after earlier reports placed the toll above 4,300 cases. The outbreak, now present in six provinces including Tshopo and North Kivu, is spreading faster than any previous Ebola epidemic in history.
The overall case fatality rate stands at 47.4%, though it reaches 70% in North Kivu. Uncontrolled population movement and ongoing armed conflict in Ituri province, under a state of siege, have hampered containment. Residents in Aru territory attacked a health team, burning an ambulance, while treatment centres are often viewed as death sentences.
Médecins Sans Frontières operates seven treatment centres across four provinces. Of the $115 million required for the response, roughly $70 million has been secured. Two candidate vaccines for the Bundibugyo strain have entered clinical trials, and the WHO is deploying 100 additional epidemiologists to the region.