Ebola outbreak in Congo spreads to additional provinces
KINSHASA, Congo — The Ebola outbreak in Congo, the world’s fastest-growing outbreak of the disease on record, has now spread to seven provinces in the African country, local authorities said, reports BritPanorama.
Governor of the northwestern province of Sud-Ubangi, Jean-Rene Galekwa Vundawe, confirmed that Congo’s national research institute tested a sample and found traces of the Bundibugyo virus, a rare kind of Ebola responsible for the outbreak.
The announcement, issued on Thursday and reported by local media on Friday, indicated that the sample originated from the Bulu health district in Sud-Ubangi, though it did not disclose details regarding the source of the infection.
Local lawmaker and former health minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani reported a positive case in Gwaka, a town in Sud-Ubangi province. The patient, a 23-year-old man, is deceased.
Mbungani detailed that the individual had recently traveled across several provinces, including South Kivu, Rwanda, and Uganda, before arriving in Ituri province, where the outbreak is most intense.
After returning to Sud-Ubangi, the patient exhibited symptoms such as fever and vomiting blood. Following the patient’s death on Tuesday, samples were taken and sent for analysis.
“It worries me. … Our province borders Congo-Brazzaville and the Central African Republic. We fear it may spread regionally,” Mbungani stated.
The development marks Sud-Ubangi as the seventh province affected by the outbreak and the first in western Congo, which raises alarms about the eastward spread of the outbreak. Although a case was noted in Kinshasa in May from an individual who had traveled from the east, the capital has not been classified as an affected province.
As of Wednesday, the outbreak has resulted in 6,942 cases and 3,349 deaths, according to the latest government figures.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the outbreak remains uncontrollable and could surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, which resulted in over 11,000 fatalities across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
While there have been declines in new cases and deaths in Ituri province, they have sharply risen in nearby North Kivu and Haut-Uele regions.
The outbreak unfolds under challenging circumstances for aid operations, exacerbated by insecurity, population movement, and a strike by health workers. This situation is particularly concerning in displacement sites where residents face precarious living conditions.
Sud-Ubangi does not border any of the six eastern provinces with confirmed cases, including Ituri and North Kivu.
WHO previously indicated the potential for the outbreak to spread to the Central African Republic and South Sudan, which share borders with the affected provinces.
Neighboring Uganda, which recorded 20 cases since May, declared itself free of the virus in July.
Last month, Congo commenced vaccinating health and other frontline workers with the Ervebo vaccine, effective against previous outbreaks caused by a different strain of the virus, Zaire.
Clinical trials are currently being conducted to develop a licensed vaccine specifically for the Bundibugyo virus.
Vaccination efforts have initiated in Tshopo, Haut-Uele, and Bas-Uele provinces, with plans to begin in Ituri next week, as noted by Placide Mbala Kingebeni, Africa CDC’s director for research, clinical trials and innovation.
The situation in Congo remains fluid, with health officials racing against the clock to contain the spread of this deadly virus.
