Congo Ebola cases top 3,200, nearing record for worst outbreak
Congo is facing a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak with over 3,200 confirmed cases and 1,437 deaths. Health officials are struggling to contain the virus due to rebel violence, worker strikes, and the lack of approved vaccines for this specific strain.
Why it matters
The speed of this outbreak, which has reached record levels in just 10 weeks, poses a significant threat to regional stability and global public health security.
BUNIA, Congo — Confirmed cases in Congo’s ongoing Ebola outbreak have reached 3,262, its Ministry of Health said in an overnight update, nearly the same as the 2018-20 outbreak that is the largest ever recorded in the country. Data from the Congolese health ministry showed that 1,437 patients have died out of the 3,262 cases, in what officials have said is the fastest Ebola outbreak on record, concentrated in the eastern Ituri province. The 2018-20 outbreak that was recorded in Congo and neighbouring Uganda lasted roughly two years, with more than 3,400 reported cases, including over 2,200 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Only the 2014-16 outbreak across West Africa, considered the worst in history, had a higher toll with 28,000 cases and more than 11,000 deaths.
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