DR Congo Ebola outbreak passes 3,000 deaths as infections spread to six provinces

The deadliest Ebola outbreak ever recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has now passed 3,000 deaths, according to the latest official figures released on Wednesday. Health authorities said the epidemic has caused 3,007 deaths and 6,186 infections, with transmission continuing in the country's conflict-hit east and northeast. The outbreak has now spread to six provinces, underscoring the scale of the public health emergency.

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The Congolese National Institute of Public Health said the fatality rate stands at 48.6%, while 1,409 people have recovered. Officials said the disease is spreading faster than efforts to track and slow it, and that the response is being strained by conflict, attacks on health workers, the movement of miners, and weak health infrastructure. They also said the resumption of schools during the outbreak has raised concerns about transmission in classrooms.

The outbreak began in the remote northeastern province of Ituri and is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Authorities said the virus is affecting areas where the state presence is weak and insecurity is widespread because of armed groups. The health response has been overwhelmed by the rise in cases, and mistrust in some communities has complicated efforts to contain the disease.

A batch of 16,250 vaccine doses for frontline medical personnel arrived in the country at the end of last month, and vaccination began shortly afterwards in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo province. The latest figures place the outbreak on track to become the deadliest Ebola epidemic on record, overtaking the West African outbreak of 2014. Ebola is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and causes haemorrhagic fever, and it has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.

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In the Congolese context, the current outbreak is especially significant because it is unfolding in a region already affected by insecurity and limited access to health services. That combination has repeatedly made outbreak control more difficult in eastern Congo. The Bundibugyo strain adds another layer of difficulty because approved vaccines are effective against the Zaire strain, which caused the largest-known Ebola outbreak to date.

The World Health Organization has recommended a phase three clinical trial using the Ervebo vaccine, but experts have said it is still unclear whether it protects against Bundibugyo, although early data suggest it may offer some degree of protection. The arrival of vaccine doses and the start of immunisation in Kisangani show that the response is continuing, but the available tools remain limited. What remains unclear is how quickly the outbreak can be brought under control in the provinces now affected, and whether insecurity will continue to disrupt surveillance, treatment and vaccination.

Officials have not said when transmission might peak or how many additional communities could be affected. The next developments to watch are whether the health response can be scaled up, whether schools and mobile populations contribute to further spread, and whether the current vaccine strategy proves effective enough to slow the epidemic.

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