The Congolese Ministry of Health said on Sunday that 72 new cases were reported over a 24-hour period, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 782. This includes 181 confirmed deaths, after 32 additional fatalities were recorded.
However, the actual number of infections is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed on 15 May, weeks after it is suspected to have begun. Contact tracing coverage has fallen to 56%, a sharp decline from the previous week.
The latest Ebola outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccine or treatment, unlike the Zaire virus, which was responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.
Fifty-six people have recovered, and the current fatality rate of the outbreak is 23%, the ministry said.
The World Health Organisation said on Sunday (June 14) it is intensifying testing and contact tracing and treatment.
Africa’s top health body said the same day it is deploying technical expertise and supporting laboratory systems, active case finding and community engagement efforts to accelerate the response to the disease outbreak.
“We remain committed to supporting affected countries until transmission is stopped. We call on partners and donors to urgently mobilise resources to strengthen the response and save lives,” said Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
The outbreak is concentrated in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri, which accounts for more than 90% of the cases. Infections have also been recorded in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and have spread across the border into Uganda.
Nearly one million people have been displaced by conflict in Ituri, according to the UN humanitarian office, making contact tracing difficult as residents flee attacks or move frequently across the vast province, which is characterised by dense forests, poor roads and remote villages that can take days to reach.
Tracing is also challenging among the thousands of artisanal miners who regularly move between remote sites in the mineral-rich region.
