Inside the DR Congo Ebola Crisis: How a Rare Strain Became the Deadliest Outbreak in History

Health workers at a Samaritan’s Purse Ebola treatment centre in Bunia, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, witnessed early warning signs before authorities officially declared an Ebola outbreak. Dr Richard Lokudu noted that three members of his hospital team died within days of treating a patient admitted to Mongbwalu General Hospital for surgery in early April.

“Before the outbreak was declared, we discovered at the hospital that there was a patient who had been admitted on 2 April and who was due to undergo surgery performed by our team on 7 April,” Lokudu told Al Jazeera. “Almost a month later, we recorded the deaths of the surgical assistant, the anaesthetist, and a member of the post-operative care team.”

Three months after authorities declared the outbreak, more than 4,900 confirmed cases have been recorded, and more than 2,300 people have died, according to health authorities and international agencies. The death toll has surpassed the previous record set during the 2018–2020 Ebola outbreak, caused by the Zaire strain, which killed 2,299 people. The current outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD), a rare form of Ebola first identified in Uganda in 2007. Unlike the Zaire strain, there are currently no licensed vaccines or specific approved therapies for Bundibugyo.

Health workers are relying on early detection, supportive care, infection-prevention measures, and community engagement to limit transmission. The World Health Organization (WHO) says the outbreak was first identified in Ituri Province and later spread to other areas. The agency has warned that armed conflict, population movement, and delays in identifying cases have complicated efforts to contain the virus.

For residents like Furaha Gisèle, 35, whose uncle died of Ebola in Rwampara near Bunia, the figures represent profound personal losses. Health officials report that transmission was already taking place before the outbreak was officially declared on May 15. WHO stated that the outbreak was initially concentrated in Mongbwalu Health Zone in Ituri before expanding to other provinces.

While the DRC has recorded Ebola outbreaks since 1976 and developed extensive response experience, health workers in Ituri face severe challenges, including conflict, difficult terrain, delayed detection, and mistrust. Professor Pierre Akilimali, head of the DRC’s Ebola response, noted that laboratory capacity has expanded, with more than 12 laboratories now operating in Ituri Province.

Response teams are also navigating decades of armed conflict in a province under a state of siege. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is supporting the response alongside the WHO. Dr Justus Nsio, Africa CDC’s field incident manager for the DRC’s Ebola response, and Dr Thierno Balde, WHO incident manager for Bundibugyo virus disease in the DRC, have both emphasized how conflict and the uncontrolled movement of ill people have driven the spread of the virus. For local medical leaders like Dr Charles Kashindi, head of Nyakunde Hospital, halting the epidemic remains both a medical challenge and a race against ongoing violence.