Ebola outbreak remains out of control in Congo 6 months into response

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Congo’s Ebola outbreak remains out of control six months after it was announced, with more than 11,000 cases recorded and nearly half proving fatal

Congo’s Ebola outbreak remains out of control six months after it was announced, with more than 11,000 cases recorded and nearly half proving fatal

BUNIA, Congo -- Six months after an Ebola outbreak was declared in Congo, the disease remains out of control and efforts to contain it are faltering.

More than 11,000 cases have been recorded, and nearly half of those infected have died, according to government data. It is the deadliest of Congo’s 17 outbreaks and is on track to surpass the death toll from the West African outbreak that killed 11,000 people between 2014 and 2016.

Basic containment measures, including contact tracing and isolation, remain inadequate, raising doubts about authorities’ ability to halt the outbreak. Experts say there is little chance of bringing it under control within the next year.

By the time the outbreak was announced in mid-May, 43 deaths had already been recorded, suggesting the virus had circulated undetected for an extended period. It has since spread to eight of the country’s 26 provinces, moving at a pace aid groups have likened to wildfire.

New hotspots continue to emerge, stretching an already strained health care system.

Community transmission remains high. According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80% of new cases are being detected outside health surveillance, meaning most infections have not been tracked by authorities.

One-third of deaths occur at home or elsewhere in the community, where burials and other procedures are often conducted without specialist supervision, increasing the risk of transmission.

Health workers have repeatedly gone on strike over pay that is months overdue, sometimes leaving patients with confirmed infections without treatment.

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