The World Health Organisation said it is an epidemic ‘of international concern’
At least 131 deaths and more than 500 suspected cases have been reported in the latest Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo, the health ministry has said. The numbers mark a sharp increase from Monday, when officials said there were 300 suspected cases, and highlight the unknown scale of the outbreak.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he is “deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic” and the UN health agency will convene its emergency committee later on Tuesday. He said the emergence of cases in urban areas, the deaths of healthcare workers, significant population movement in the area and a lack of vaccines and therapeutics are the main reasons for concern “for further spread and further deaths”.
Health authorities say the outbreak, first confirmed on Friday, is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare variant of the Ebola disease that has no approved therapeutics or vaccines. The WHO declared the Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday.
There has also been one case and one death reported in Uganda. An American doctor is among the cases in Bunia. Dr Peter Stafford had been treating patients at a hospital there when he developed symptoms.
DR Congo has said the first person died from the virus on April 24 in Bunia, and the body was repatriated to the Mongbwalu health zone. “That caused the Ebola outbreak to escalate,” said Mr Kamba, the health minister.
When another person fell ill on April 26, samples were sent to Kinshasa for testing, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control. Samples from Bunia were initially tested for the more common type of Ebola. They came back negative and local authorities assumed it was not Ebola.
On May 5, the WHO was alerted of about 50 deaths in Mongbwalu, including four health workers, which prompted further tests. The first confirmation of Ebola came on May 14.
Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare but severe and often fatal. During a big Ebola outbreak over a decade ago, which killed more than 11,000, many got infected while washing bodies during community funerals.
Ebola virus disease (EVD) has an incubation period of 2 to 21 days (meaning it takes this long for symptoms to appear after exposure). A person is not contagious until they start showing symptoms.
The disease typically begins abruptly with influenza-like symptoms that can easily be mistaken for other common illnesses like malaria, typhoid, or the flu.
- Sudden, high fever
- Severe headache
- Extreme fatigue and weakness (malaise)
- Muscle and joint aches
- Sore throat and loss of appetite
As the virus multiplies and damages the immune system and organs, more severe gastrointestinal symptoms develop. These are highly infectious.
- Severe diarrhoea
- Nausea and vomiting
- Abdominal (stomach) pain
- A flat, red skin rash (sometimes appearing 5 to 7 days into the illness)
- Impaired kidney and liver function
While Ebola is famously known as a “hemorrhagic fever,” visible severe bleeding does not happen in every patient, but rather in advanced cases. Internal and external bleeding can include:
- Bleeding or oozing from the gums, nose, or eyes
- Bleeding from injection/needle puncture sites
- Blood in the vomit or stool
- Easy bruising or blood spots under the skin
The combination of severe vomiting and diarrhoea quickly leads to dangerous dehydration. In fatal cases, death usually occurs 6 to 16 days after the first symptoms appear, typically due to multi-organ failure and severe shock from fluid loss. Early supportive medical care (like IV fluids and symptom management) drastically increases the chances of survival.
