DRC Ebola Outbreak Becomes Deadliest In Country’s History As Death Toll Hits 2,325 | Sahara Reporters

The figures, released by the DRC government on Monday, provide an update on the health crisis that has continued to ravage the country since the outbreak was declared on May 15.

A total of 2,325 people have been officially confirmed dead from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), making the outbreak the country’s deadliest recorded outbreak of the virus.

The figures, released by the DRC government on Monday, provide an update on the health crisis that has continued to ravage the country since the outbreak was declared on May 15.

According to the government, the deaths were recorded from 4,945 confirmed Ebola cases, surpassing the previous deadliest outbreak in the country between 2018 and 2020, which killed 2,299 people from 3,381 confirmed cases.

The latest outbreak began in the conflict-ravaged northeastern province of Ituri and has since spread to five other provinces, raising concerns over the ability of health authorities to contain the virus across the vast Central African nation, which has a population of more than 100 million.

The United Nations has described the outbreak as “the fastest-growing on record,” warning that the disease is reportedly killing one person every 30 minutes in the DRC.

The outbreak, the country’s 17th Ebola outbreak, is believed to have been spreading for several weeks before it was officially declared on May 15.

Health authorities and international organisations have intensified efforts to contain the spread, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) saying last week that it hoped to reverse the spread of the disease within three months.

The latest figures have heightened concerns over the scale and speed of the outbreak, particularly as health workers contend with insecurity and other challenges in some affected communities.

Ebola is a highly infectious viral disease that can spread through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of infected people or those who have died from the disease. It can cause severe haemorrhagic fever and, in serious cases, death.

The DRC has experienced repeated Ebola outbreaks over the decades, but the current crisis has now overtaken the 2018–2020 outbreak as the country’s deadliest.

The worst Ebola outbreak ever recorded occurred in West Africa between 2013 and 2016, when more than 11,300 people died, mainly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Across Africa, Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people over the past five decades, according to available health data.

With the DRC outbreak continuing to spread across multiple provinces, health authorities face the urgent task of identifying cases, tracing contacts and preventing further transmission while accelerating treatment and containment measures.