Congo Ebola: 1,707 Dead, Fastest-Growing Outbreak
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- Ebola has killed 1,707 people in eastern Congo with 3,802 cases recorded as of Tuesday, making it the fastest-growing outbreak of the disease ever recorded.
- Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said 60-70% of new cases come from community spread rather than contact tracing, which "is not working," and called it the second-largest outbreak ever.
- The Bundibugyo virus strain is responsible, with no approved vaccines or treatments available; two post-exposure prophylaxis drug trials are underway in Ituri province alongside two separate vaccine trials in the UK and Canada.
- The WHO is monitoring over 17,000 potential contacts with nearly 80% seen daily, and has scaled testing capacity to over 2,000 samples per day, up from 20 previously.
- Patient zero has not been identified, and armed conflict displacement plus illegal mining have complicated contact tracing; over 100 health care workers have been infected since the outbreak began on May 15.
- Healthcare workers in Mongbwalu issued a 24-hour ultimatum over unpaid wages, following a prior strike in Bunia over pay and dangerous working conditions.
Why it matters: With over 100 health workers infected and frontline staff in two towns issuing ultimatums over unpaid wages, the response infrastructure is buckling as the outbreak outruns contact tracing. The unidentified patient zero and a Bundibugyo strain with no approved vaccines mean containment depends on an underpaid workforce operating in an active conflict zone.
