Ebola outbreak in Congo-Uganda kills 80, infects 246

A fresh outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has killed at least 80 people, prompting renewed regional health concerns across Central and East Africa.

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) confirmed the outbreak in Ituri province of eastern DR Congo, reporting nearly 246 infections so far.

Most cases have been detected in the gold-mining towns of Mongbwalu and Rwampara, where population movement and crowded conditions are raising fears of wider transmission.

The situation has also spread beyond DR Congo’s borders. Ugandan health authorities on Friday confirmed an Ebola case involving a traveler arriving from DR Congo. According to Uganda’s Health Ministry, a 59-year-old man died on Thursday after testing positive for the virus.

Africa CDC said only four of the 80 reported deaths have so far been laboratory-confirmed, while additional suspected cases have emerged in Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri. Laboratory verification of those cases is still underway.

Health officials warned that the urban nature of Bunia and Rwampara, along with the mining-driven movement of workers in Mongbwalu, could significantly accelerate the spread of the virus.

Although the Congolese government has yet to formally declare a national outbreak, Africa CDC said emergency coordination meetings are underway involving DR Congo, Uganda, South Sudan and international partners to strengthen containment measures and border surveillance.

Over the past five decades, Ebola outbreaks across Africa have claimed nearly 15,000 lives. DR Congo’s deadliest outbreak occurred between 2018 and 2020, when about 2,300 people died. Another outbreak in the country’s central Kasai province last year killed 45 people.

Ebola was first identified in 1976 in what is now DR Congo and is believed to have originated from bats before spreading to humans. The current outbreak marks the country’s 17th recorded Ebola resurgence.