DRC Ebola Death Toll Rises to 864, Confirmed Cases Reach 2,181

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has announced an updated toll for the ongoing Ebola outbreak, with 864 fatalities and 2,181 confirmed cases as of July 16. The Ministry of Communication and Media reported that the case fatality rate stands at 39.6%. Currently, 722 patients are under isolation or hospitalization, and 412 individuals have recovered from the virus. The contact tracing rate has reached 66.9%.

The eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Haut-Uele remain affected, along with the central-north province of Tshopo. Ituri continues to be the epicenter, recording 44 new confirmed cases and 20 new recoveries. North Kivu has detected eight new infections, maintaining a contact tracing rate of 87%. Response teams are intensifying surveillance, early detection, patient care, and contact follow-up to curb the disease's spread.

Haut-Uele is strengthening its surveillance system, while South Kivu and Tshopo show stable situations with no new affected health zones. Ten new ambulances have been deployed to bolster operational response capabilities. Meanwhile, neighboring Uganda has discharged its last Ebola patient, marking a significant step towards declaring the end of its outbreak after registering 20 confirmed cases, including 15 imported from the DRC, which resulted in two deaths.

This outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, which has a fatality rate between 30% and 50% and lacks an authorized vaccine or specific treatment, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO considers the risk of expansion in sub-Saharan Africa to be high, while the global risk is low. This epidemic is the third-deadliest in recorded history, following the West Africa outbreak (2014-2016) that caused approximately 11,000 deaths and 28,000 infections, and a previous outbreak in eastern Congo (2018-2020) which resulted in 2,299 deaths and 3,481 cases.

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The response teams are reinforcing surveillance, early detection, patient care, and contact follow-up activities to contain the spread of the disease.