The Democratic Republic of Congo’s latest Ebola outbreak is on course to become the country’s second-largest on record after confirmed cases surged to 3,200, up from 2,344 just a week earlier. The death toll has also climbed to 1,405, nearly doubling over the course of two weeks. The current crisis has already surpassed case totals reached a year into the 2018–2020 outbreak, Congo’s worst on record, despite that earlier epidemic ultimately sickening more people over its full duration. Unlike that outbreak, no vaccine exists for the Bundibugyo strain driving the current spread. Meanwhile, population movement, insecurity, artisanal mining, and cross-border trade with Uganda and South Sudan continue to accelerate transmission. Repeated attacks on health facilities and widespread misinformation have further undermined response efforts, prompting the United Nations to deploy peacekeepers to protect treatment centers in the worst-affected areas of Ituri province.
Bloomberg