The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has surpassed 4,000 confirmed cases, with health officials raising concerns the Bundibugyo strain may be mutating. As of 4 August, the national public health institute recorded 3,973 cases and 1,801 deaths, making it the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record. Dr Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), confirmed the milestone during a press briefing and revealed plans to collaborate with the World Health Organization on studies to assess whether the virus is evolving, citing the "unprecedented" severity of the current strain.
The outbreak, first reported on 15 May but suspected to have begun as early as January, is concentrated in Ituri province and has spread to Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo. Over two-thirds of Ebola deaths are occurring outside treatment centres, and contact tracing remains weak—only 10 contacts are being identified per patient, far below the expected 40. In Bunia, an MSF-run treatment centre reported that 90% of admitted patients do not appear on official contact lists, indicating widespread untracked transmission. Response strategies are shifting from passive tracing to active door-to-door case searches across affected communities.
Africa CDC officials announced plans for a "village-centered response" involving digital tools and greater engagement with internally displaced persons in conflict camps. Antiviral remdesivir will be used on a compassionate basis, while trials will assess the effectiveness of the Ervebo vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain, following data suggesting it led to less severe disease and no deaths among vaccinated individuals. A suspected Ebola death on a boat bound for Kinshasa is under investigation, with passengers quarantined and tested. Unicef warned that fear and service disruptions are reducing access to essential care, including childhood vaccinations—measles immunisation rates have dropped 69% in Mongbwalu.
The shift from contact tracing to door-to-door searches admits that current surveillance is failing to capture how widely the virus is spreading. With most deaths occurring outside clinics and patients unlinked to known cases, the outbreak's true scale may be far larger than official figures suggest.
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