Congo's Ebola outbreak becomes deadliest in country’s history, death hits 2,325

The Ebola outbreak sweeping the Democratic Republic of Congo has become the deadliest in the country’s history, with the death toll climbing to 2,325 as health authorities struggle to contain rapidly expanding transmission.

The latest government figures, released on Sunday, August 16, show that confirmed infections have reached 4,945, including 101 cases recorded in the preceding 24 hours. The outbreak has now surpassed the 2,299 deaths recorded during Congo’s 2018–2020 Ebola epidemic, previously the country's worst. 

The scale of the crisis has also pushed the current outbreak into second place globally for Ebola deaths, behind the catastrophic 2014–2016 West African epidemic, which killed 11,310 people across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Fatality rate climbs sharply

The current outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, a strain for which there are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments.

The reported case-fatality rate has climbed dramatically, reaching about 47% in the latest figures. Health specialists, however, caution against interpreting the increase as evidence that the virus itself has become more deadly.

Instead, delayed diagnosis and difficulty getting patients into treatment are believed to be major factors.

“Normally, as an outbreak progresses, the case fatality ratio should fall as contact tracing improves and patients are identified and treated earlier,” said Thomas Parisch, a public health specialist recently deployed to the DRC with Médecins Sans Frontières.

“Instead, we're still seeing many cases detected very late, when treatment is less likely to succeed, with many identified only after they die in the community.”

The warning is particularly troubling because the outbreak has been spreading faster than health teams have been able to identify transmission chains. 

A crisis spreading beyond the original hotspots

Congo's current outbreak, its 17th, was formally declared in May after the Bundibugyo virus was confirmed in Ituri Province.

It has since expanded to six provinces, with the vast majority of infections and deaths concentrated in Ituri. The expansion has been complicated by armed conflict, population displacement, poor infrastructure, misinformation and difficulties reaching communities where health workers need to conduct contact tracing and provide treatment.

The speed of transmission has alarmed international health officials.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher recently warned that “Ebola is winning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo”, while calling for an urgent increase in the scale and speed of the international response.

No approved vaccine for this strain

One of the biggest challenges facing the response is the absence of an approved vaccine specifically targeting Bundibugyo Ebola.

Experimental vaccines and treatments are being studied, but they remain under evaluation.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations has committed funding towards accelerating development and manufacture of an experimental Bundibugyo vaccine for clinical trials, reflecting the growing urgency around a virus that has historically received far less research attention than the Zaire species responsible for several major Ebola epidemics.

Uganda contains its outbreak

The outbreak has also crossed Congo's borders.

Neighbouring Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths, but authorities have managed to contain the outbreak there and declared it over last month. The cross-border threat remains a concern, however, given the movement of people between the two countries. 

International health agencies have therefore maintained enhanced surveillance at high-risk border crossings and other points of entry.

Health system under enormous pressure

The Ebola crisis is unfolding against an already fragile healthcare system.

Insecurity in eastern Congo has made it difficult for medical teams to safely reach some communities, while displacement and distrust have complicated contact tracing and other containment measures. WHO has also highlighted the country's limited health workforce and dependence on external assistance. (

The result is a dangerous cycle: patients are being detected late, treatment becomes less effective, contacts are harder to trace, and the virus gains more opportunities to spread before authorities can intervene.

With 4,945 confirmed infections and 2,325 deaths, Congo's latest Ebola crisis has already eclipsed every previous outbreak in the country's history.

And with transmission still accelerating, health officials face a race against time to prevent the current epidemic from becoming an even larger regional disaster.