Key facts
- The current Ebola outbreak in Congo is on track to surpass the deadliest outbreak in history.
- The 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak recorded over 11,000 deaths and more than 28,000 cases.
- The current outbreak in eastern Congo has resulted in over 2,000 deaths among more than 4,300 cases.
- The outbreak began in February but was declared on May 15, with early cases misattributed to other diseases.
- The Bundibugyo virus responsible for the current outbreak has no approved vaccines or treatments.
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo is projected to surpass the deadliest outbreak in history, which occurred in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, claiming over 11,000 lives from more than 28,000 cases. According to the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the current outbreak is progressing at a pace that could eclipse the previous record.
The outbreak in eastern Congo, identified as the fastest-growing on record, has already caused over 2,000 deaths among more than 4,300 confirmed cases. While officially declared on May 15, health authorities now indicate that genetic sequencing suggests the outbreak began as early as February. A significant challenge is that the responsible virus, Bundibugyo, lacks approved vaccines or treatments, unlike some previous Ebola strains.
Compounding the difficulty in containment are the remote location of the outbreak in eastern Congo, ongoing conflict, and poor infrastructure, which hinder efforts to track and manage the spread. Many new cases and fatalities are occurring in communities that health workers have not yet reached. Some early cases were initially misdiagnosed as malaria or typhoid, and initial testing focused on more common Ebola types, delaying the full realization of the crisis. The case fatality rate for the current outbreak stands at 45.9%, higher than the 39.6% recorded during the 2014-2016 epidemic.