The death toll from the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has climbed to at least 930, with health authorities warning that the virus is spreading faster than in any previous outbreak.
According to the DRC’s Health Ministry, the country had recorded 2,344 confirmed cases as of Monday, July 20, with 37 deaths reported within 24 hours from Friday. One of the highest daily death tolls since the outbreak was declared on May 15.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed growing concern over the speed of transmission, describing the outbreak as unprecedented.
“It is now the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record. In the past month, it has expanded faster than any previous outbreak,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Dr. Tedros noted that while the 2018–2020 Ebola outbreak in the DRC took more than 10 months to reach 2,000 confirmed cases, the current outbreak crossed the same threshold in just two months.
“The true tally could be at least double that,” he warned.
The DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak was first detected in the northeastern province of Ituri, an area plagued by armed conflict. Since then, infections have spread to five provinces in the country and into neighbouring Uganda, although WHO says Uganda is now close to becoming virus-free.
Health officials are also battling challenges on the ground after healthcare workers in Ituri launched a strike over unpaid allowances, disrupting operations at Bunia General Hospital.
The WHO further revealed that more than 80 percent of new infections are being detected outside known contact lists, indicating that many chains of transmission remain unidentified.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry said 724 patients are currently receiving treatment in isolation centres, with 22 recoveries recorded in the last 24 hours, as authorities intensify surveillance, contact tracing and treatment efforts to contain the outbreak.
