The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has now claimed more than 2,500 lives; the largest area in which the disease is spreading is larger than France and is spreading exponentially, said senior United Nations Ebola coordinator Julien Harneis.
Speaking on a video call from the northeastern Congolese city of Bunia, Harneis called for more aid, saying an existing pool of funds is set to run out within weeks. Health workers there were coming under attack by locals angered and terrified by the outbreak, and were themselves falling sick and dying from the disease, he added.
A Record-Breaking Epidemic Without a Cure
Congo’s 17th Ebola epidemic became the biggest in the country’s history in terms of the number of cases in late July, surpassing the previous worst outbreak in 2018 to 2020. The cause of this is the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has no licensed vaccine or therapy. The Ebola outbreak is “exponentially increasing,” said Harneis.
The epidemic is now in an area larger than France, and the outbreak is spreading faster and wider than the Ebola response. All of this is occurring in an area which has suffered 30 years of conflict and has created massive humanitarian demands. He said there are now some 160 health workers infected with Ebola and 43 of those have died.
Rising Violence and Misinformation Target Frontline Workers
When we do respond, apart from the threat from the virus, healthcare workers and frontline workers have been attacked, ambulances have been burnt and stoned, and the healthcare facilities attacked,” he said. Fear becomes angry young men who begin to throw stones at their object of fear, namely the ambulance, he added.
Others have reported that people have been convinced that it is a hoax and have expressed anger with health bans on burying close members of their family themselves.
In the last six months, at least 260 attacks on health workers and eight health workers have been killed, Harneis said, “which is obviously terrifying because people are already risking their lives to deal with Ebola.
Severe Funding Cuts and Financial Disruptions
In recent years, cuts to aid have lowered humanitarian organisations’ capacities, he said.
The other issue is funding the tens of thousands of people that are involved in combating the outbreak,” he said. The government’s ban on commercial flights to deal with the deadly virus also affected banking services by curtailing the transport of cash to banks.
Ebola Outbreak Spreads Rapidly Across Congo
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reached a critical stage, with more than 2,500 deaths reported and the United Nations warning that transmission is expanding at an exponential rate. As of August 21, health authorities had reported 5,290 confirmed cases and 2,516 deaths across 56 health zones.
Ebola Cases Continue to Rise
The current Ebola outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a strain for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment. WHO has described the outbreak as the largest recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo and noted its unusually rapid expansion.
Ebola Creates Growing Pressure on Healthcare Systems
Healthcare workers are facing significant risks as the Ebola outbreak expands. More than 160 healthcare workers have reportedly been infected, with dozens of deaths. Attacks on healthcare facilities and responders have also made surveillance, treatment, and contact tracing more difficult.
