Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo spreads to 2 new health zones with a total of 60 areas now affected

BUNIA, Congo — The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history has spread to two new health zones in eastern Congo, with a total of 60 now affected, according to the latest government figures published on Friday.

The two new zones affected are Biena and Manguredjipa in Congo’s North Kivu province, where the case fatality rate is much higher than the overall rate of 48%, due in part to delayed response efforts, according to Congo’s Ministry of Health data.

It said the outbreak has recorded 5,794 confirmed cases, including 2,786 deaths, as it is spreading at an unprecedented speed, faster than efforts to track and slow it.

The outbreak is spreading under extremely difficult conditions, fueled by insecurity, displacement, a health workers’ strike and intense population movements. The World Health Organization has said that it remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the deadliest on record, which killed more than 11,000 people, primarily in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Aid group Doctors Without Borders said on Friday it had opened a new treatment center in Beni in North Kivu to enable a faster response in what it said was one of the hardest-hit areas.

While the large majority of cases are concentrated in northeastern Ituri province, North Kivu has an Ebola fatality rate of close to 69%, one of the highest in the country, according to the latest government figures.

The new center “enables the rapid treatment of patients, strengthens contact tracing and supports the health authorities in their efforts to contain the spread of the virus,” Doctors Without Borders said in a statement.

On Thursday, Congo began vaccinating health workers and other front-line workers with the Ervebo vaccine that was effective in past Ebola outbreaks caused by a different, more common type called Zaire.

Clinical trials are underway to find a licensed vaccine for the rare Bundibugyo virus that is causing the current outbreak and which has no approved vaccines or treatments.

Although the current outbreak was declared in mid-May, officials believe it had been spreading since February. It has spread from three health zones to nearly 60, with most cases and deaths occurring outside the network of monitored contacts and within communities.

Efforts to bring the outbreak under control — from limited public gatherings to social distancing and airport closures — have disrupted life in the six affected provinces, particularly Ituri, which has been ravaged by rebel violence.

The government has introduced measures, including installing health and sanitary equipment at some locations, but advocacy groups say more needs to be done to build trust within the community.

While neighboring Uganda declared itself free of Ebola last month, the risk of further cross-border spread remains, WHO said Wednesday.

WHO expert Marie Roseline Belizaire said that the Central African Republic is now considered the country at highest risk of spillover, followed closely by South Sudan, as the outbreak in eastern Congo has expanded toward border areas.