The death toll from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has surpassed 2,000, according to figures released Tuesday by the country’s public health authorities. The DRC Ebola death toll now stands at 2,011, out of 4,381 confirmed cases, with the overall case fatality rate at 45.9 percent.
Over 700 patients remain in isolation or hospital care, while 869 people have recovered, according to official data. Cases have been reported across five provinces, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo, with Ituri remaining the epicentre of the outbreak.
Half the Deaths Occurred in Just 20 Days
“Today the Ebola epidemic surpassed 2,000 deaths, half of these in the last 20 days,” UN Senior Ebola Coordinator Julien Harneis said on social media Tuesday. “All of us in the response, aid workers, organisations, governments, donors, with the community, must do more, and do it today, to save lives.”
At least 1,000 of the deaths have occurred in the last three weeks alone, according to official government data, as the virus continues spreading at an alarming rate. Health authorities believe the outbreak had already been spreading for several weeks before it was officially declared on May 15.
Second-Largest Ebola Outbreak on Record
The outbreak has become the largest ever recorded in the DRC and the second-largest globally, trailing only the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic, during which more than 11,000 people died. The current toll puts it close behind the DRC’s previous deadliest outbreak, in 2018-2020, when nearly 2,300 people died out of 3,500 recorded cases, though this outbreak has reached that scale far more quickly.
Sania Nishtar, chief executive of the Gavi vaccine alliance, said the outbreak is already considered the largest in the country’s history and could well become the largest ever recorded.
No Approved Vaccine for This Strain
Ebola in this outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment, though clinical trials of candidate vaccines and therapeutics are under way. On Friday, WHO vaccine experts recommended a full-scale human trial of the only existing approved Ebola vaccine, Ervebo, to determine whether it offers cross-protection against the Bundibugyo strain. Ervebo has proven safe and effective against the more common Zaire strain, and early animal-trial data suggests it may offer some protection against Bundibugyo as well.
Many health workers in the affected region have gone on strike to protest a lack of payment for their work since the outbreak began.
Case Detected in Israel
The outbreak’s international reach expanded this week when Israel’s Ministry of Health announced Tuesday that it had been alerted to a potential Ebola case within its borders, after an Israeli citizen returned from the DRC. In a series of posts on X, the ministry said tests had been performed after the person developed a fever.
