New Ebola Outbreak in Africa: 65 Dead in DR Congo, One Fatality in Uganda
There is no proven cure for Ebola hemorrhagic fever. The average mortality rate is about 50%.
Photo: Gevende / Getty Images
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), approximately 246 cases of the disease and 65 deaths have been registered, mainly in the gold-mining towns of Mongwalu and Rwampara in the eastern province of Ituri, writes the BBC.
On Friday, Ugandan authorities reported a death from the Ebola virus. The country's Ministry of Health announced that a 59-year-old man who died on Thursday tested positive for the virus. He had previously arrived in the country from DR Congo.
A letter circulated by Uganda's Ministry of Health stated that the 59-year-old DR Congo national was hospitalized in Kampala on Monday and died in the intensive care unit on Thursday.
Officials stated that no domestic cases of the disease have yet been detected in Uganda.
Ebola hemorrhagic fever was first detected in 1976 in Zaire (now DR Congo). It is believed to have spread from bats. This is already the 17th Ebola outbreak in the country.
The disease spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids and through broken skin, causing severe bleeding and organ failure.
The initial symptoms—fever, muscle aches, fatigue, headache, and sore throat—are followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and bleeding.
There is no proven cure for Ebola hemorrhagic fever. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the average mortality rate is about 50%.
Preliminary studies conducted by the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) in the country's capital, Kinshasa, detected the virus in 13 out of 20 analyzed samples.
Tests are currently underway to determine the virus strain.
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, out of 65 fatalities, four were registered among patients with laboratory-confirmed diseases.
Additional suspected cases of the disease have also been registered in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, with laboratory test results not yet confirmed.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention believes that the virus could spread further due to the dense population in the cities of Rwampara and Bunia.
In addition, the center's Executive Director Jean Kaseya added that assistance from other states is now necessary. According to him, there is "significant population movement" between affected areas and neighboring countries.
All affected localities and risk zones are advised to follow the guidelines of national health authorities.
In its statement on Friday, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention replied that it is convening a meeting with authorities from DR Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan, as well as other international partners, to discuss priorities, including response measures and cross-border surveillance.
The situation is complicated by the fact that for many years, fighting has been ongoing between various armed groups in the eastern regions of DR Congo. Since 2021, Ituri province has been under military rule. DR Congo authorities are thus trying to neutralize dozens of armed groups that have operated in the area for years. In particular, this includes the jihadist group ADF (Allied Democratic Forces).
Over the past 50 years, approximately 15,000 people have died from this virus in various African countries.
The deadliest outbreak of the epidemic in DR Congo occurred between 2018 and 2020, resulting in nearly 2,300 deaths.
Last September, an outbreak of the disease in the remote Bulape area of the central Kasai province killed 45 people. This was the first outbreak in DR Congo in three years. In late September, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned that the country's medical facilities were overwhelmed and medical supplies were running out.
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