Congo Heads Towards Worst Ebola Outbreak Yet

Eastern Congo is on a trajectory toward its most severe Ebola outbreak to date, with mortality rates escalating at an alarming pace. Three months into the current epidemic, the death toll is rising five times faster than during the major West Africa outbreak in 2014, despite the fact that the specific variant, Bundibugyo, is considered less deadly than others.

Congolese authorities have faced consistent criticism since the outbreak began. Relatives of victims have attacked treatment centers on numerous occasions, and healthcare workers have gone on strike protesting unpaid wages and inadequate protective equipment. This internal turmoil is compounded by external pressure.

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Why are we still seeing strikes? We must pay the health workers and this is the government's responsibility, it does not fall on international organizations. And we have been told that there is money for this but still the wages are not paid.

Jean Kaseya, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), expressed strong disapproval of the Congolese government's performance. He stated that the government has failed to meet its commitments, particularly regarding the payment of healthcare workers. Kaseya emphasized that this is the government's responsibility, not that of international organizations, despite reports of available funds.

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More than 63 percent of deaths occur in homes.

The statistics are stark: 4,449 confirmed cases and 2,061 deaths have been registered. A significant concern is that over 63% of deaths are occurring in homes, increasing the risk of transmission to family members during care and funerals. This high rate of home deaths also points to a lack of trust in public healthcare facilities.

Kaseya further criticized the government's contact tracing efforts, deeming them ineffective. With an average of 60 contacts per infected person during the incubation period, the current tracing of just over 17,000 individuals falls far short of the 120,000 contacts that should have been registered based on the death toll. This failure significantly hinders the ability to control the spread of the virus.

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Considering the number of deaths, we should have registered around 120,000 contacts by now; instead, only just over 17,000 people have been reached. In this situation, contact tracing becomes useless.