Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have reported 80 deaths in a recently declared Ebola outbreak in Ituri province, the national health ministry said late on Friday. Samples examined on Thursday confirmed infections with the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus in several local health zones, the ministry said.
In a statement, Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba said that samples tested on Thursday confirmed eight cases of the Bundibugyo variant in the Rwampara, Mongwalu and Bunia health zones. The ministry said there have been 246 suspected cases linked to the outbreak so far.
The suspected index patient was identified as a nurse who died after being treated at the Evangelical Medical Centre in Bunia. Reported symptoms included fever, bleeding, vomiting and severe weakness, according to the ministry's account.
National response measures
The government said it has activated its public health emergency operations centre, intensified epidemiological and laboratory surveillance and ordered rapid deployment of response teams to affected areas. Those steps are intended to strengthen contact tracing, case identification and clinical care as authorities work to contain the spread.
Regional and international reaction
Africa's leading public health agency earlier reported a confirmed outbreak in Ituri and had put the death toll at 65. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement it was convening an urgent meeting with Congo, Uganda, South Sudan and global partners to boost cross-border surveillance, preparedness and response activities.
The Africa CDC said the deaths and suspected cases have been reported mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, with suspected cases also appearing in Bunia, the provincial capital. The agency noted that four of the deaths were among laboratory-confirmed cases. Initial findings indicated a non-Zaire strain of the virus, and sequencing work is ongoing to further characterise the virus.
"Africa CDC is concerned about the risk of further spread due to the urban context of Bunia and Rwampara" as well as "intense population movement" and mobility related to mining in the affected areas, which are close to Uganda and South Sudan, the agency said. "Given the high population movement between affected areas and neighbouring countries, rapid regional coordination is essential," Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya added in the statement.
Cross-border cases and confirmations
Uganda's health ministry reported that a Congolese man died in Kampala of the Bundibugyo strain. Ugandan officials said the case was imported and that no local transmission had been confirmed within Uganda at the time of their announcement.
The World Health Organization said it learned of suspected cases on May 5 and sent a team to Ituri to investigate. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters that field-collected samples initially tested negative, but a laboratory in Kinshasa later confirmed positive cases on Thursday. Tedros said the total number of confirmed positive cases stands at 13.
WHO has released $500,000 from its contingency fund for emergencies to support the response. The funds are intended for surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing and clinical care, the organisation said.
Scientific and operational complications
Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the Congolese virologist who co-discovered Ebola and leads the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa, said that nearly all of Congo's previous outbreaks were caused by the Zaire strain - all but one of 16 prior outbreaks, he noted. He warned that finding a different variant will complicate the response because current treatments and vaccines were developed against the Zaire strain.
Security and humanitarian context in Ituri
The new outbreak is occurring against a backdrop of escalating insecurity in Ituri, where clashes between rival militias have killed scores of civilians in recent weeks. The violence has worsened an already severe humanitarian situation and has left some health facilities overwhelmed or non-functional, Medecins Sans Frontieres said.
MSF warned of catastrophic hygiene conditions in displacement sites, which increases the risk of secondary disease outbreaks among people who have been forced from their homes.
Historical context and disease characteristics
This is the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in Congo since the virus was first identified there in 1976. The country's most recent outbreak prior to this one occurred in Kasai province and was declared over on December 1 after three months. That episode involved 64 cases in total, of which 45 died and 19 recovered.
According to the Africa CDC, Ebola virus disease is a severe and often fatal illness endemic to Congo's tropical forests. It is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, contaminated materials or contact with persons who have died from the disease.
Authorities and international partners continue to monitor laboratory results and sequencing data, while response teams work to expand surveillance, trace contacts and provide clinical care in affected zones that are experiencing both high population mobility and security disruptions.