Ebola in the DRC: more than 1,000 deaths, the fastest spread ever recorded

The ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 1,000 deaths, according to the latest data published by the WHO. The Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no vaccine or treatment, is spreading at an unprecedented rate in the history of the disease.

A total of 2,473 people were infected in the DRC and neighboring Uganda between May 15 and July 19, according to figures from the Congolese Ministry of Health. There have been 999 documented deaths in the DRC and two in Uganda. At a health summit in Ghana, Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, raised the death toll to 1,031.

"These people are dying. They are dying because we have no vaccines, no medicines, no funding," he told participants at the Africa Health Summit.

The speed of spread of this epidemic exceeds anything that had been observed until now. The previous deadliest outbreak, which raged from 2013 to 2016 and caused 11,000 deaths among 28,000 infected people, took about eight months to reach the threshold of 1,000 deaths.

Congolese health authorities acknowledge that they can only trace 82% of contacts linked to confirmed cases, a rate far below the 90-95% that the WHO considers necessary to contain the virus. Even more concerning, over 80% of new infections occur through unknown chains of transmission, meaning that the disease is circulating far beyond what field teams are able to monitor.

The epidemic is affecting five of the country's 26 provinces, which have a population of 116 million. Its epicenter is located in Ituri province, on the border with Uganda and South Sudan.

The health response is also facing severe obstacles on the ground. Health workers have been forced to flee affected areas for their safety, while others claim they haven't been paid for several months. Attacks against medical personnel are exacerbating an already critical situation.

Dr. Kaseya called for an urgent intensification of international efforts. "If we do not stop this outbreak, it could become one of the worst Ebola outbreaks ever documented in the world," he warned.