'No idea where I got it': Ebola death toll tops 1,500 as outbreak spreads with no approved treatment

Medical workers in personal protective equipment transfer children from an orphanage who tested negative for Ebola at a treatment center inside an Ebola response safe zone in Bunia, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 9. [Reuters]

Ebola is spreading rapidly across the Democratic Republic of Congo, raising alarm internationally as the confirmed case count surpasses 3,500 — making the current outbreak the second largest in recorded history.

Congo's Ministry of Communication and Media said Friday that as of Wednesday, the country had recorded 3,532 confirmed cases, with 90 new infections added in a single day.

The cumulative death toll reached 1,556, putting the case fatality rate at 44.1 percent. Some 807 patients are currently in isolation or receiving hospital treatment, while 626 have recovered.

The outbreak has already surpassed the 2018–2020 Ebola epidemic in Congo, which recorded 3,481 confirmed cases and 2,299 deaths. Globally, it is now the second largest Ebola outbreak on record, behind only the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic, which saw more than 28,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths.

The WHO and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have warned that the current outbreak is spreading faster than any previous Ebola epidemic.

Carl Skau, acting executive director of the UN World Food Programme, told Reuters the outbreak was "spreading faster than any Ebola we have experienced," adding that it required "much greater attention and support from the international community."

A cemetery in Mungwalu, Djugu territory, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, on July 14, 2026. [Reuters]

The virus driving the current outbreak is a rare strain known as Bundibugyo, which carries a fatality rate of 30 to 50 percent. No approved vaccine or treatment exists for this variant.

Congo has experienced 16 Ebola outbreaks in total, but most were caused by the Zaire strain, for which vaccines have been developed. A clinical trial of a treatment targeting the Bundibugyo variant has begun in Ituri Province, though it remains in the early patient-recruitment stage.

Health authorities said roughly 80 percent of new confirmed cases have no identifiable source of infection — a sign, the Associated Press noted, that health officials are struggling to keep pace with the spread.

Caritas, an international aid organization operating in Bunia in northeastern Congo, said a significant number of residents continue to seek out traditional healers, making it difficult to break chains of transmission.

The situation is further complicated by dozens of armed groups operating in eastern Congo, which restrict health workers' access to affected areas. Cuts to foreign aid have also left medical supplies and personnel severely depleted.

WHO estimates the true scale of Ebola infections may be two to four times higher than official figures, citing limitations in surveillance and reporting systems.

bbo@heraldcorp.com