DR Congo braces up for epidermic control as Ebola deaths surge

19.9.2025
Deaths from an ongoing Ebola crisis have surged 63 percent over the last week as officials fear an impending pandemic.
The World Health Organization said Thursday that 48 cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been confirmed.
While this is a decrease from 68 last week, the decline is due to a surge in deaths, rising from 19 as of September 15 to 31 as of September 18, including at least four healthcare workers.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday: ‘It has been two weeks since the government of the DRC declared an Ebola outbreak.
‘So far, 48 confirmed and probable cases have been reported, and 31 people have died.’
However, two patients have recovered so far and been discharged. Another 16 are being treated, and the WHO has sent 14 tons of medical supplies.
The grim update comes as vaccination efforts are underway in the Kasai province of the DRC for people exposed to the Ebola virus and front-line health workers.
An initial 400 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, an FDA-approved shot administered only during outbreaks, have been dispatched in Bulape, a current Ebola hotspot in the Kasai province, with the remaining 1,600 to be delivered in the coming days.
The CDC said Thursday there is currently no Ebola cases ‘related to this outbreak have been reported outside of the DRC’ and that the risk of spread to the US ‘is considered low at this time.’
Ebola’s presence in DRC dates back to 1976, and the latest outbreak is the 16th in the country and the seventh in Kasai province.
Previous outbreaks in 2018 and 2020 in eastern Congo killed more than 1,000 people each.
The largest Ebola outbreak occurred in 2014 to 2016 in West Africa when more than 28,600 cases were reported.
Ebola spreads through contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person, as well as contact with contaminated objects or infected animals such as bats or primates.
Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain and weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising.
Ebola can cause serious disease and has a mortality rate as high as 90 percent without treatment.