The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) faces an escalating Ebola outbreak that has now claimed its sixth province in the northern region, with neighboring South Sudan at risk of infection. Health authorities declared the 17th Ebola epidemic on May 15—weeks behind schedule—marking what is already the deadliest outbreak in the country’s history.

The previous record-holding Ebola crisis in the DRC, which spanned 2018 to 2020, resulted in nearly 2,300 deaths out of 3,500 reported cases. The current epidemic has already surpassed those grim figures, with over 2,128 fatalities recorded from 4,566 confirmed cases within just three months of its emergence.

Five provinces—Ituri (bordering Uganda and South Sudan), North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, and Tshopo—had previously been affected. However, a fatality in Bas-Uélé, a northern province bordering the Central African Republic, has now extended the outbreak’s reach. Jean Kaseya, Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), confirmed the case during an online briefing, noting the victim had traveled from the neighboring Haut-Uélé province, where Ebola cases were already documented.

The Africa CDC has warned that the outbreak is spreading at an unprecedented global pace. Within three months, the DRC has reported seven times more cases and five times more deaths compared to the first three months of the 2014 West Africa Ebola epidemic, which remains the deadliest on record.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed cautious optimism, stating it aims to reverse the epidemic’s upward trend within the next three months.

High-risk corridors fuel regional spread fears

Humanitarian organization Mercy Corps has raised alarms about the potential for the virus to spill into South Sudan, emphasizing that confirmed cases now lie just 35 kilometers from the border. The warning comes along high-risk movement corridors where displaced populations and cross-border trade could facilitate transmission.

The response effort in the DRC is severely hampered by overstretched healthcare services, limited access to clean water and sanitation, eroded public trust, and persistent insecurity. In North and South Kivu, frontlines between the Congolese army and the M23 rebel group—backed by Rwanda—have divided regions, complicating containment efforts.

Isolated progress amid ongoing threats

While South Kivu reported no new Ebola cases for over 42 days, authorities declared the outbreak contained in the province earlier this week. However, a suspected Ebola-related death was reported on a boat traveling the Congo River toward Kinshasa in early August. Fortunately, no additional cases were detected among passengers, who were permitted to disembark near the capital last Friday.

Ebola, transmitted through bodily fluids, causes severe hemorrhagic fever and has claimed over 15,000 lives across Africa over the past five decades.