The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) is spreading rapidly again with no signs of abating.
According to the DR Congo Ministry of Communications and Media, cumulative confirmed Ebola cases in the country reached 1,307 as of the 28th of this month, an increase of 104 from three days earlier. Over the same period, deaths rose by 56 to 377.
On the 15th of this month, one month after the outbreak was declared, authorities reported a cumulative death toll of 181, meaning the number of victims has more than doubled in just two weeks. During the same period, only 180 patients were declared fully recovered.
The fatality rate stands at 28.8%, approaching the 30% to 50% fatality rate of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola currently circulating.
The DR Congo government has designated 35 health zones across three provinces as outbreak areas, including Ituri province in the northeast where the outbreak originated, as well as North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
However, AFP reported, citing local health officials, that confirmed cases have also emerged in Haut-Uele province, north of Ituri, effectively expanding the outbreak to four provinces. The patient was infected in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, before traveling to Haut-Uele and has reportedly already died. The DR Congo government has not issued an official statement on the matter.
Containment measures appear to be spilling over into political controversy. From the 27th of this month, the government expanded its "ban on public gatherings," previously limited to the three outbreak provinces, to three neighboring provinces including Haut-Uele as well as the capital Kinshasa.
The opposition immediately pushed back. They argue that blocking rallies even in Kinshasa, located about 1,800 kilometers from the outbreak area, is intended to suppress an anti-government protest scheduled for the 8th of next month.
Ebola has already crossed the border. Since the outbreak was declared on the 15th of last month, 20 confirmed cases and two deaths have emerged in neighboring Uganda, and recently a doctor who had been carrying out humanitarian medical work in DR Congo tested positive after returning to France.
International organizations have warned of an economic shock at the continental level. Damien Mama, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in DR Congo, expressed concern on the 30th that the outbreak could cause Africa to suffer losses of up to $3.6 billion (about 5.58 trillion won) and as many as 300,000 job losses, Reuters reported.
"If we strengthen the response by deploying sufficient resources, we can curb the spread and prevent further damage, but if we fail to do so, this health crisis will turn into a longer and deeper development crisis," Mama said.
