The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak ever documented, with government figures released on Saturday showing the death toll surging above 1,309. According to data released by the government, confirmed cases and deaths reached 2,973 as of Thursday, marking a 27 percent rise from the previous Saturday and an extraordinary 40 percent jump in fatalities over a five-day span.
Rare Bundibugyo Strain Stretches Public Health Resources
Compounding the danger in Central Africa, the virus driving the epidemic is the Bundibugyo strain. According to public health authorities, it is the rarest of the four Ebola variants known to affect humans and currently lacks any approved vaccines or treatments. Abdulsalami Nasidi, a public health consultant who helped establish the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), told Al Jazeera that the absence of a proven vaccine means the virus is spreading “like a wildfire” through an active conflict zone.
Scientists are racing to counter the outbreak. The University of Oxford’s Oxford Vaccine Group announced on Friday that a volunteer received the first dose of a rapidly developed experimental vaccine. Katrina Pollock, chief investigator for the Oxford team, called the milestone an important step in a multinational collaborative journey to develop a vaccine against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
Healthcare Worker Strikes and Security Crises Hamper Response
On-the-ground response efforts face severe disruptions due to active hostilities, supply shortages, and community distrust. According to Al Jazeera reporting from Goma, the government response has lacked coordination and urgency. More than 100 health workers have been infected since the outbreak was declared in May, resulting in approximately 35 deaths, including a doctor and a health worker among the recent victims. Protective equipment remains scarce, and some residents have expressed hostility and questioned the existence of the disease.
In the northeastern province of Ituri, the epicenter of the outbreak, healthcare workers at several facilities have launched strikes over unpaid wages and unsafe working conditions. Following a protest by dozens of staff at Rwampara General Hospital near Bunia—where parts of an Ebola treatment center were burned by residents in May—workers at the Elikya Ebola Treatment Centre in Bunia initiated a strike on Saturday. Striking worker Martin Bolombi told The Associated Press that unpaid bonuses disrupt patient care while the disease continues to spread inside the facility.
International Response and Travel Restrictions
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the true number of cases could be more than double the official count because insecurity restricts access to affected communities. While contact tracing reaches roughly 80 percent of known contacts, response teams cannot deploy everywhere they are needed. In response, countries including the United States and Canada have restricted entry for travelers recently visiting the DRC, measures that run counter to WHO guidance issued in May when the outbreak was declared a global health emergency.
Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya urged immediate international action in a post on X, warning that the crisis could become the worst outbreak the world has ever documented if left unchecked. Tedros has called for a ceasefire in eastern DRC, emphasizing that medical resources alone cannot resolve a crisis complicated by regional conflict.