Ebola Claims Over 1,000 Lives in DR Congo Amid Fast-Spreading Outbreak

The death toll from the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has surpassed 1,000, making it the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic ever recorded, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

Speaking at a health conference in Ghana on Wednesday, Africa CDC Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya said 1,031 people have died since the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of the virus was confirmed in May.

“These are people dying,” Kaseya said. “They are dying because we don’t have vaccines, we don’t have medicine, we don’t have funding.”

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the outbreak has also spread beyond the DRC, with two Ebola-related deaths reported in neighbouring Uganda.

The DRC Ministry of Health said that as of Monday, 2,473 confirmed cases had been recorded, while 737 patients remain in isolation or are receiving treatment in hospitals.

The outbreak was officially declared on May 15 after several deaths were reported in Ituri Province, in the country’s northeast.

Health officials say the current epidemic is spreading faster than any previous Ebola outbreak on record. While the devastating 2013–2016 West Africa Ebola epidemic took about eight months to reach 1,000 deaths, the current outbreak has crossed the same threshold in less than 10 weeks.

Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals and remains one of the world’s deadliest viral diseases. Health authorities continue to call for increased international funding, medical supplies and support to contain the outbreak.