DRC Ebola Cases Surpass 10,000 As Kenya Reports Two Deaths

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has recorded more than 10,000 confirmed Ebola cases, with 4,887 deaths, as health authorities intensify efforts to contain the outbreak that has also affected Kenya and Nigeria.

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, has become the deadliest Ebola epidemic in the DRC’s history.

According to figures released on Tuesday, October 27, the DRC had recorded 10,060 confirmed cases and 4,887 deaths as of October 25. 

The figures represent nearly half of all confirmed patients dying from the disease. Kenya has reported nine confirmed cases, including two deaths, since the country confirmed its first case on October 6. 

All the cases are linked to a single cluster that began with a Kenyan man who had been living in the DRC and travelled to Nairobi through Uganda.

In an update issued on Monday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said 20 contacts linked to Kenya’s first case had completed the mandatory 21-day quarantine period and returned home. 

Another 98 contacts remained in quarantine. Kenya’s health authorities said all eight additional cases were identified among people linked to the first patient. There is no evidence of wider community transmission in the country.

The WHO said the discharged contacts had remained without symptoms throughout quarantine and had undergone final health assessments and counselling before returning to their families.

Kenya’s Director General for Health, Dr Patrick Amoth, urged communities to welcome the discharged contacts, saying those who had completed 21 days without symptoms posed no risk of infection.

The WHO is supporting Kenya’s response through disease surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing, case management, screening at points of entry and community engagement.

The regional spread has heightened concern among health authorities. Nigeria confirmed one imported case on October 20 involving a patient who had travelled from Uganda. Investigations into the patient’s travel history and possible source of infection are continuing.

Uganda, which recorded 20 cases and two deaths during its own outbreak earlier this year, was declared Ebola-free on August 27. The Minister of Health Dr. Chris Baryomunsi on Sunday told journalists that Uganda had continued to remain Ebola-free but was on high alert against possible cross-border transmission.

The latest regional developments have renewed the need for cross-border surveillance and preparedness.

The outbreak is particularly difficult to contain because the Bundibugyo virus has no licensed vaccine or specific treatment.

Health authorities are relying on early detection, isolation, supportive care, contact tracing and infection prevention measures to reduce transmission and deaths.

A clinical trial known as TUMAINI has been launched in the DRC to evaluate vaccine candidates using a ring-vaccination approach, which targets contacts of confirmed Ebola patients and people who may have been exposed.

The first vaccine under evaluation is Ervebo, which has demonstrated effectiveness against the Zaire species of Ebola. Researchers are yet to establish whether it provides protection against the Bundibugyo virus.

The trial is being led by Congolese authorities and managed by the National Public Health and Biomedical Research Institute. 

WHO officials expect it will take several months before results begin to emerge.  Meanwhile, the ONE Campaign has called on international donors to increase funding for the response, arguing that inadequate protective equipment and unpaid wages have weakened efforts to contain the outbreak.

The organisation said strikes by health workers, hostility towards aid personnel and misinformation have further complicated the response. It also called for frontline workers to be paid and adequately equipped, and for funding to be transparently tracked.

The outbreak is unfolding alongside other health emergencies in the DRC, including cholera and vaccine-derived polio, placing additional pressure on an already strained health system.

The ONE Campaign cited a United Nations humanitarian appeal for the DRC that was 54 per cent funded as of October 21, with 1.15 billion US dollars available against a target of 2.13 billion dollars.

It warned that the Ebola response must also protect routine health services, including childhood vaccination and maternal care, which have been disrupted in some affected areas.

WHO continues to advise against travel and trade restrictions against affected countries, instead urging governments to strengthen surveillance, screening at points of entry, contact tracing and timely access to care.