DRC Ebola Bundibugyo Sud-Ubangi Spread: 7th Province Confirmed

• The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to Sud-Ubangi, becoming the seventh affected province and the first in western Congo.
• A sample from Sud-Ubangi confirmed the presence of the rare Bundibugyo virus, which is responsible for the current outbreak.
• The outbreak has recorded 6,942 cases and 3,349 deaths, with the World Health Organization stating it remains out of control.
• Aid efforts are severely hampered by insecurity, population displacement, a health workers' strike, and intense population movements.
• Vaccination trials for a Bundibugyo-specific vaccine are underway, while the Ervebo vaccine is being used for the more common Zaire strain.

The World Health Organization has stated that the outbreak remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, which was the deadliest on record.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is grappling with an escalating Ebola outbreak, which has now reached its seventh province, Sud-Ubangi, marking a significant geographical expansion. This development was confirmed after Congo’s national research institute identified traces of the rare Bundibugyo virus in a sample from the Bulu health district in Sud-Ubangi. The statement, issued on Thursday and reported by local media on Friday, did not disclose further details regarding the infection's origin.

Local lawmaker and former health minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani announced on Thursday via X that a positive case was recorded in Gwaka, a town within Sud-Ubangi province. The patient, a 23-year-old man, tragically succumbed to the disease. Mbungani detailed the man's extensive travel history over three weeks, which included departing from South Kivu province—an area with confirmed Ebola cases—then traveling to Rwanda and Uganda, before returning to Congo's Ituri province, the outbreak's epicenter. His journey continued from the northeast to the northwest, traversing Tshopo, Mongala, and ultimately Sud-Ubangi provinces.

This marks Sud-Ubangi as the first province in western Congo to be affected, shifting the outbreak's concentration beyond its previous eastern strongholds. While a case was detected in Kinshasa in May involving a traveler from eastern Congo, the capital, situated over 1,600 kilometers from the epicenter, was not classified as an affected province. The spread to Sud-Ubangi underscores the dynamic and challenging nature of containing the disease.

The current Ebola outbreak in Congo is now recognized as the world's fastest-growing on record, showing no signs of abatement. Government figures as of Wednesday report a staggering 6,942 cases and 3,349 deaths. The World Health Organization has stated that the outbreak remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, which was the deadliest on record, claiming over 11,000 lives primarily in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Aid efforts to combat the disease are severely hampered by a confluence of difficult conditions, including pervasive insecurity, widespread population displacement, a strike by health workers, and intense population movements across the region. These factors create an extremely challenging environment for containment and treatment. While new cases and deaths have recently declined in Ituri province, the initial epicenter, there has been a sharp increase in neighboring North Kivu and Haut-Uele. The situation is particularly precarious in displacement sites, where residents already face extremely vulnerable living conditions.

The geographical expansion of the outbreak carries significant regional implications, particularly given Sud-Ubangi's border with the Central African Republic. The World Health Organization previously warned last month of a potential risk for the outbreak to spread from Congo to both the Central African Republic and South Sudan, which share borders with affected provinces. Sud-Ubangi itself does not border any of the six previously affected eastern provinces, which include Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Tshopo, and Bas-Uele, highlighting the new vector of spread.

Neighboring Uganda, which had reported 20 cases since May, successfully declared itself free of Ebola in July, demonstrating that containment is possible with robust public health measures. In response to the ongoing crisis, Congo has initiated vaccination efforts. Health and other front-line workers are receiving the Ervebo vaccine, which proved effective in past Ebola outbreaks caused by the more common Zaire strain of the virus. Concurrently, clinical trials are underway to develop a licensed vaccine specifically for the Bundibugyo virus. These vaccination trials have commenced in Tshopo, Haut-Uele, and Bas-Uele provinces, as confirmed by Placide Mbala Kingebeni, Africa CDC’s director for research, clinical trials, and innovation, on Thursday, with vaccinations in Ituri also set to begin.

Legal and compliance teams should evaluate heightened health and safety risks, travel advisories, and business continuity plans for operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, especially concerning the Bundibugyo Ebola strain and its spread to new regions.

Source: Original reporting via Associated Press