A record number of Ebola cases in Congo... and fears of an expansion of the outbreak

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Fears are mounting about the expansion of the Ebola virus outbreak in Africa, with confirmed infections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo exceeding 10,000 cases, a record toll that coincides with growing fears about the possibility of the infection spreading to more African countries.

The latest report issued by the Institute of Public Health indicated that the number of infections reached 10,060 cases, while the number of deaths resulting from the virus reached 4,887 cases.

Earlier this October, Kenya reported its first case of infection, then announced nine cases in total, after the death of a man in Nairobi who had traveled from Congo via Uganda. Last week, Nigeria became the fourth African country to report an Ebola infection.

Uganda also recorded 20 cases of infection in May and June, most of which were imported from Congo, but the World Health Organization announced in August that the country was free of the virus.

The outbreak, caused by the rare “Bundibugyo” strain of the Ebola virus, was announced in mid-May, and has since become the largest and deadliest outbreak in Congo, surpassing the epidemic that spread between 2018 and 2020.

The outbreak also became the second largest and deadliest Ebola wave ever, after the outbreak that West African countries witnessed between 2014 and 2016, which infected more than 28,600 people and claimed the lives of more than 11,000, most of them in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.