The Ebola epidemic, which is spreading at an unprecedented rate, became the deadliest in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday, surpassing in three months the 2,300 deaths recorded during the 2018-2020 outbreak.
Six provinces in this vast Central African country are affected by the Ebola epidemic.
The epidemic «"is the fastest ever recorded"» And «"kills one person every 30 minutes"», According to the UN's humanitarian chief, no vaccine or specific treatment is currently available for the Bundibugyo variant responsible for the outbreak. The DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak on May 15, several weeks late, in northern and eastern regions where the state's presence is fragile, health infrastructure is inadequate, and the response is overwhelmed by the surge in cases.
The 2018-2020 epidemic in eastern DRC, considered until then to be the deadliest in the country's history, had caused 2,299 deaths out of 3,381 confirmed cases, according to figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), based on data from Congolese authorities.
The current outbreak has claimed 2,325 lives out of 4,945 confirmed cases, just three months after it was declared, according to the latest figures from Congolese authorities. In three months, seven times more cases and five times more deaths have been recorded in the DRC than during the first three months of the largest Ebola epidemic in history, which struck West Africa in 2014, according to the African Union's health agency (Africa CDC).
The current outbreak has already spread to six provinces in this vast Central African country of over 100 million inhabitants, where population movements largely go unmonitored. The World Health Organization (WHO) indicated on Wednesday that it hopes to reverse the upward trend of the Ebola epidemic in the DRC within three months. Uganda, a neighboring country of the DRC, has recorded 20 confirmed cases, including two deaths, and announced in mid-July that it no longer had any active cases of the virus.
«"People prefer to be treated at home."»
In Bunia, the capital of Ituri, the epicenter of the outbreak in the DRC where nearly 901,300 cases have been recorded since mid-May, measures against the epidemic remain largely invisible, despite the urgency.
The city council ordered shopkeepers to install handwashing stations in front of their shops, but customers continue to crowd into the markets in large numbers, paying little heed to the safety measures, an AFP correspondent observed. «"Community engagement in the response remains too low."», says Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
Read alsoDRC: The Ebola virus epidemic surpasses 2,000 deaths
According to him, «More than 70,000 people die in the community.», and not in treatment centers (CTEs). In the Djugu territory, located in Ituri, «"People prefer to be treated at home, thinking it's poisoning or some other illness."», laments Jean-Paul Malo Lotsima, head of local civil society. «"It's often at the last minute, when the family realizes the situation is worsening, that patients are taken to the hospital. And sometimes, they die en route."», he adds.
Flavier Ngurima, a resident of Nizi, one of the main hotspots of the epidemic in Ituri, lost his brother, who died before arriving at the treatment center (CTE). «We had called on a family nurse to care for him at home because the patient and family members were afraid to go to the CTE. They said that many people die there.», he says.
Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.
A myriad of armed groups are active in the regions affected by the epidemic, further complicating access to communities, according to humanitarian organizations. The response has also been criticized for its slowness and lack of organization, despite the mobilization of international organizations.
The contact tracing rate, announced by Congolese authorities as over 80%, «"does not reflect reality"», According to the Africa CDC, this number corresponds to contacts already identified, which would represent only 121% of contacts of confirmed cases. Community surveillance «"doesn't work"», The organization, which also advocates for "strong coordination and transparent financial management" of the epidemic, stated this.
Local staff, including nurses and those responsible for safe burials, who are particularly exposed, have gone on strike or demonstrated in several hospitals in Ituri in recent weeks to demand payment of their bonuses. The International Council of Nurses (ICN), the largest organization representing the profession, called on Congolese authorities on Friday to urgently pay and protect these healthcare workers.
Of the $518 million (€448 million) needed for the joint preparedness and response plan launched in early June by the Africa CDC and the WHO to combat the Ebola epidemic, only $264 million (€228 million) has been raised so far, the WHO warned on Wednesday. Ebola, which is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and causes hemorrhagic fever, has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years. Several vaccines are being tested against the current strain of the virus.
English 
French