Ebola Returns To Congo with 15 fatalities confirmed
Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have confirmed a fresh outbreak of Ebola in Kasai Province, where 28 suspected infections and 15 deaths have been recorded.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the outbreak is centred in the Bulape and Mweka health zones in south-central Kasai. Laboratory analysis carried out on September 3 at the National Institute of Biomedical Research in Kinshasa identified the Ebola Zaire strain as the cause.
To contain the spread, the Ministry of Health and WHO have deployed advance teams, including a national Rapid Response Team and international experts in epidemiology, infection control, and case management. Communication specialists are also on the ground to educate communities on prevention.
WHO has delivered two tonnes of emergency supplies, including protective gear, medical kits, and mobile laboratory equipment. Vaccination efforts will soon begin, with 2,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine already stockpiled in Kinshasa and set to be transported to Kasai for frontline workers and identified contacts.
Dr. Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, stressed the urgency of the response, saying:
“We’re acting with determination to rapidly halt the spread of the virus and protect communities. Banking on the country’s long-standing expertise in controlling outbreaks, we are scaling up key measures to end this emergency as quickly as possible.”
Reaching affected areas remains a major challenge, as Kasai is remote—often requiring at least a full day’s drive from the provincial capital, Tshikapa, with limited air access.
WHO warns that case numbers may continue to rise due to ongoing transmission. Congo, however, has experience in handling the disease: the last outbreak, in Equateur province in April 2022, was contained in under three months. Kasai itself previously battled Ebola in 2007 and 2008.
Since the first known Ebola case in 1976, the DRC has faced 15 outbreaks of the deadly virus.
