DRC Ebola Cases Top 5,200 in 100 Days as Outbreak Spreads to 6th Province

3 articles · Updated · WHO | Regional Office for Africa · Aug 24

More than 5,200 Ebola cases have been recorded in 100 days in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, making it the country’s fastest-growing outbreak and pushing transmission ahead of control efforts.
Around 90 confirmed cases a day were logged in the first three months, while Ituri remains the epicentre with about 85% of cases and 79% of deaths.
About 60% of 260 weekly deaths over the past six weeks occurred in communities outside treatment centres, underscoring delays in detection, referral and access to care.
Response capacity has expanded to 19 laboratories processing over 3,000 samples daily, more than 1,300 treatment beds and contact follow-up of 84%, up from 9% in the first week.
Insecurity, displacement, attacks on health facilities and community reluctance still hamper containment, leaving the coming months critical for scaling up operations across provinces and borders.