The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has surged to 782, with 178 deaths, marking one of the largest single-day increases since the outbreak began. The Ministry of Public Health reported 72 new cases and 29 additional deaths in the past 24 hours.

The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, which has a 22.8% fatality rate so far, with 40 patients recovering. Unlike the Zaire strain responsible for previous outbreaks, there is no approved vaccine or treatment for Bundibugyo.

Contact tracing coverage has plummeted to 56.5%, far below the 95% target, severely hampering containment efforts. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that “no one knows the true scale” of the outbreak due to dangerous gaps in surveillance and testing.

Eastern Ituri province remains the epicenter, accounting for nearly 95% of all confirmed cases. The virus has spread to North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and crossed into Uganda. Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya called for urgent resource mobilization to strengthen the response.

The humanitarian crisis in Ituri exacerbates the medical emergency, with nearly one million people displaced by armed conflicts involving multiple groups, including the M23 rebels who control Goma. UN reports document massacres of over 100 civilians in gold-rich Ituri villages as factions vie for control of mineral wealth.

Thousands of artisanal miners moving between clandestine sites create transmission hotspots. The WHO is ramping up diagnostic testing, but MSF reports a critical funding gap of $21.5 million hampering the response.

Source: www.aljazeera.com