Ebola Outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo Reaches Record Levels

The Democratic Republic of Congo is experiencing a severe Ebola outbreak with 3,532 confirmed cases and 1,556 deaths as of Friday, July 31. According to data from Congolese authorities, this current outbreak has surpassed the total number of cases seen during the country's previous deadliest epidemic between 2018 and 2020. One source notes that this is the fastest growing outbreak in the history of the virus, while another describes it as the second largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded globally, trailing only the 2014 to 2016 West African epidemic. The current crisis is caused by the Bundibugyo variant, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment. Hilleman Laboratories in Singapore is developing a promising vaccine, and the University of Oxford has begun testing another candidate using technology similar to the AstraZeneca Covid 19 vaccine. The World Health Organization reports that nearly 90 percent of cases are concentrated in the Ituri province, though the virus is present in four other provinces. Some of these areas are controlled by the M23, an armed group supported by Rwanda. While Uganda recently declared the end of its own epidemic, the World Health Organization warns that the risk persists.