The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) shows no signs of slowing down. This grim assessment was delivered on August 5 by the Deputy Medical Director of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) during an official visit by the World Health Organization’s Director-General to the eastern region of the country. Two and a half months after the outbreak was declared on May 15, this epidemic has become the second largest on record, with a spread rate unlike any previously observed. According to the latest figures from the Congolese government and the World Health Organization, there are now 1,850 deaths out of approximately 4,000 cases, with a fatality rate exceeding 40%.
The Bundibugyo strain, responsible for this outbreak, has already claimed more lives in a shorter timeframe than any previous outbreak of this variant. Officials note that the current epidemic has surpassed the death toll of the 2018-2020 outbreak in just two and a half months—a milestone that took over ten months to reach in the past. “We are not in a position to say that we fully control this epidemic today,” admitted Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), at the end of July.
Violence and instability hamper response efforts
The eastern DRC has become a battleground not only for communities but also for the fight against Ebola. The Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, is plagued by relentless terrorist attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militant group originating from Uganda. Meanwhile, North Kivu, another affected region, remains largely outside the control of Kinshasa’s government. Large portions of North Kivu have been under the control of the M23—a proxy armed group backed by Rwanda—for over a year following intense clashes with the Congolese army.
Years of violence have displaced millions of people, pushing them into neighboring countries like Uganda and Burundi or deeper into Congolese territory. This humanitarian crisis has created dire living conditions, with poor hygiene and sanitation exacerbating the spread of the virus. Compounding the issue, early surveillance and testing capabilities were severely limited due to insufficient resources, delaying the identification and confirmation of cases.
Contact tracing efforts have also fallen staggeringly short. In Bunia, the epicenter of the outbreak, 90% of admitted patients were not previously tracked contacts. Across Ituri province, only 59% of contacts were successfully traced. According to Africa CDC estimates, for every confirmed urban case, about 40 contacts should be monitored. Currently, only 13% of the target—17,500 out of 134,400—have been reached. Additionally, nearly one-fifth of recorded individuals are not receiving regular follow-ups due to personnel shortages or ongoing violence. Tragically, 60% of fatalities occurred within communities, rather than in healthcare facilities.
Vaccines and treatments remain in experimental stages
Despite these challenges, progress is being made to curb the outbreak. This month, the first clinical trial for a vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain began at the University of Oxford. A volunteer has already received the experimental vaccine, with the trial aiming to include 50 adults to assess its safety. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is also funding the development of another vaccine by Singapore’s Hilleman Laboratories, with plans to rapidly produce and test doses in the DRC.
For now, no vaccine exists specifically for this highly virulent strain. However, Africa CDC announced on August 6 its intention to roll out mass vaccinations using the Ebola Zaïre strain vaccine in affected populations. While the Bundibugyo variant differs, vaccinated individuals show mild symptoms and no fatalities, according to health authorities. Over 40 patients are also participating in a trial evaluating a combination of treatments.
Jean Kaseya has further announced plans to expand the use of remdesivir, an antiviral, across the DRC. This decision follows successful results in neighboring Uganda, where authorities contained a similar outbreak by administering the drug to both patients and contacts. “Uganda’s fatality rate of 10% is largely due to the widespread use of remdesivir,” Kaseya noted. International health projections suggest this epidemic could surpass the devastating 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak, which claimed over 11,000 lives.
International aid arrives late and falls short
Another critical factor fueling the epidemic’s spread is the delayed and insufficient international response. Early in 2025, the U.S. administration suspended decades of health and medical aid through USAID, severely weakening the DRC’s healthcare infrastructure. On August 5, the U.S. State Department finally announced a new allocation of $242 million, bringing total direct U.S. funding for Ebola response to $512 million. While this provides much-needed resources, officials note it falls short of previous U.S. contributions to humanitarian and health crises. The U.S. remains the largest contributor to the Ebola response in the DRC, far outpacing the European Union’s support.
