The Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is getting worse. Cases are spreading quickly across six provinces.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Saturday that as of Wednesday, DRC has reported 4,665 confirmed cases and 2,184 deaths. This means the case fatality ratio is 46.8 percent.
The outbreak is now the largest Ebola outbreak in the country. It has spread from the Mongbwalu health zone to 54 health zones in six provinces.
“Initially confined to Mongbwalu health zone in Ituri Province, the outbreak has expanded to 54 health zones across six provinces,” the statement said.
The provinces affected include Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Tshopo, and Bas-Uélé. This shows how far the virus has spread.
Recently, Bas-Uélé reported its first confirmed case in the Buta health zone. This case involved a person who had traveled from Haut-Uélé.
The outbreak saw its highest weekly numbers during epidemiological week 32. There were 579 cases and 304 deaths reported during that week.
The WHO said that more infections, the wider spread, and high death rates have raised concerns about the public health emergency.
Insecurity, people being displaced, movement of people, and cross-border travel are making it harder to respond to the outbreak. These factors increase the risk of the virus spreading further.
“DRC authorities, working with WHO and partners, are implementing extensive response measures while scaling up activities to contain transmission,” WHO said.
WHO and the Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC) are focusing on better surveillance and engaging more with communities. This follows their missions to the DRC.
The statement also mentioned that authorities are expanding treatment centres and training healthcare workers to help manage these facilities.
WHO noted that France has not seen any secondary transmission after an imported case was detected on June 24.
As of August 14, 41 days have passed without any new confirmed cases in France.
In Uganda, the last imported case was discharged on July 16. A 42-day enhanced monitoring period is expected to end on August 27.
The WHO said Uganda is still at risk of another imported case because of ongoing transmission in DRC.
Regional efforts to prepare and respond continue across Africa as authorities aim to stop any further cross-border spread.
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