The key facts

  • More than 5,000 deaths and 10,351 cases since mid-May, according to the DR Congo Ministry of Health
  • Eight provinces of the country have been affected
  • Africa CDC called for stronger protection of health workers after the deaths of two young Congolese doctors

The largest outbreak in the country's history

The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has exceeded 5,000 people, according to a Saturday situation update from the country's Ministry of Health, which is cited by Anadolu. The outbreak was declared in mid-May; since then, the cumulative number of cases has reached 10,351.

Scale and geography

According to the Ministry of Health, the outbreak has affected eight provinces: Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Bas-Uele, Tshopo, Sud-Ubangi and Nord-Ubangi. It is the largest and deadliest Ebola outbreak ever recorded in Congo and the second largest in the world after the West African epidemic of 2014–2016.

Risk to health workers and weaknesses in the response

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Friday called for strengthening protective measures for frontline health workers after two young Congolese doctors died of Ebola this week in North Kivu and Ituri provinces. According to health authorities, the main obstacles to stopping the transmission of the virus remain weaknesses in early detection and contact tracing: only about 12% of confirmed cases were identified among previously known contacts, and many deaths occur in communities rather than in medical facilities.