Ebola in DRC: 1,048 cases, 267 deaths — epicentre in Ituri, authorities step up surveillance
25.5% fatality rate, 371 patients in isolation or hospitalised, 112 recovered. The Bundibugyo virus outbreak was officially declared on 15 May. Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces are under special monitoring. The report warns of the risk of geographic spread.
As reported by CCTV+, according to the latest report published on Monday by health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the number of confirmed Ebola cases in the country has risen to 1,048, including 267 deaths. The report, covering data up to Sunday, showed 371 patients in isolation or hospitalised, and 112 people had recovered. As of Sunday, 202 suspected cases had been identified, including 60 deaths. The overall case fatality rate stood at 25.5 percent.
The report states that the number of confirmed cases continues to rise week by week, indicating ongoing community transmission. It warns that rapid geographic spread remains possible if public health measures are not taken promptly. The DRC's Ministry of Health said the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu would continue to strengthen epidemiological surveillance. Ituri province currently remains the epicentre of the outbreak. Authorities are ramping up contact tracing and investigation efforts, as well as expanding diagnostic capacity as part of case management.
The current outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, was officially declared by the country's health ministry on 15 May.
Ebola is a severe viral disease with a high fatality rate, transmitted through contact with bodily fluids. The Bundibugyo virus is one of six known Ebola strains, named after its first detection site in Uganda in 2007. The DRC has experienced more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks since 1976, when the virus was first identified here. Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu are eastern provinces where the epidemiological situation remains volatile. Failure to act quickly could allow the infection to spread beyond these areas, posing a threat to neighbouring countries.
When the number of infected exceeds a thousand and the death rate remains one in four, numbers cease to be abstract. Behind every percentage point is a life, a pain, a broken family. Ebola knows no borders — it only knows transmission routes. And while medics in Ituri fight for every single day, the world watches the spread map with bated breath. Delay in such situations is not just a mistake. It is a sentence. And the only thing that can stop the virus is not just medicine, but speed, coordination and a willingness to act before the count reaches thousands.
