I first saw the figures on a colleague's screen in a quiet office far from the heat and dust of Ituri province. Nearly 2,350 confirmed cases. More than 930 dead. The numbers land heavily because they represent people who slipped away in their homes, often without ever reaching a treatment centre.
The outbreak declared on 17 May has become the third-largest Ebola epidemic on record. It has grown with a speed that outruns earlier ones. In Ituri alone, health workers have recorded over 2,000 cases and 776 deaths. North Kivu has seen 230 cases and 139 fatalities. Smaller clusters have appeared in Haut-Uele, South Kivu and Tshopo.
More than 80 percent of new infections are found outside known contact lists. Transmission chains are being missed. Two-thirds of those who die do so in their communities, never receiving care inside a health facility. These details paint a picture of fractured trust and logistical strain rather than simple failure of medicine.
Despite the progress we have made, the Ebola outbreak in DRC is continuing to outpace the response. Active armed conflict is hampering access to the affected areas, and hindering the response. Just yesterday, a treatment centre in Bunia was attacked.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, spoke those words days ago. He described the attack on a treatment centre in Bunia as the latest reminder of how insecurity shapes every decision. Political intervention is needed alongside technical fixes, he said, to open roads and protect responders without undermining the sovereignty of Congolese authorities.
The response on the ground includes strengthened surveillance, contact tracing, infection prevention, clinical management, safe burials and community engagement. Cross-border work with Uganda continues. There, 20 cases and two deaths were recorded, the last patient discharged on 16 July. The 42-day countdown to declare that outbreak over had begun.
No licensed vaccine or specific treatment exists yet for the Bundibugyo virus. Clinical trials for monoclonal antibodies, remdesivir and a new vaccine candidate from Oxford have started. Early diagnosis and supportive care have already allowed 377 people to recover. Survival is possible. The gap lies in reaching those who never make it to a clinic.
