DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — An Ebola outbreak affecting Congo and Uganda has taken more than 200 lives in its first month, making it the worst-known outbreak at this point in its progression, according to Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials announced Thursday that as many as 35,000 suspected contacts may have been exposed.
With 894 confirmed cases recorded so far, the current outbreak is three times more severe than a 2000 Ugandan outbreak that had 281 cases at the same stage, according to Dr. Wessam Mankoula, a medical epidemiologist at Africa CDC.
The case count is thought to be even higher because the outbreak wasn’t officially confirmed until May 15 — weeks after it is believed to have started. Cases have grown by 38% compared to last week and now span 32 health zones in eastern Congo, Dr. Mankoula said.
This outbreak is driven by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments. The virus was not tested for in the early days of the outbreak. Most of Congo’s previous 16 Ebola outbreaks were caused by the more common Zaire strain, which does have an approved vaccine. Experimental therapies, including monoclonal antibodies, are currently being developed to treat Bundibugyo.
So far, 74 patients have recovered from the disease across eastern Congo and Uganda.
The hardest-hit area is Congo’s eastern Ituri province, which accounts for over 90% of all cases. Additional cases have been recorded in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, and the disease has crossed into Uganda, where 19 confirmed cases and two deaths have been reported.
Contact tracing — a critical tool for containing outbreaks — has been severely hampered by the remote terrain and ongoing violence in Ituri province, Dr. Mankoula noted.
“For those 800 confirmed cases, we should have between 17,000 to 35,000 contacts that should be in our contact list,” Mankoula said. Currently, only around 4,000 contacts — less than 15% of the expected total — have been identified and are being monitored.
“We are still far from controlling the situation of this outbreak,” Mankoula said.
According to the U.N. humanitarian office, nearly one million people have been displaced by years of conflict in Ituri, complicating contact tracing efforts as residents flee violence or move frequently through a vast region of dense forests, poor roads, and remote villages that can take days to reach. The large number of miners who routinely travel between remote sites in the mineral-rich region adds another layer of difficulty.
Funding shortfalls are also slowing the response. Of more than $900 million pledged to combat the outbreak, only $90 million has actually been released, according to Dr. Mankoula. Africa CDC estimates it needs 540 personnel to effectively fight the outbreak but currently has only 84.
“We’re keeping our fingers crossed those new pledges will be fast tracked, and we’ll be following up with different member states and different partners about their commitment to turn those pledges into actual money released to their affected countries or partners,” Mankoula said.
