DRC Ebola Death Toll Rises to 80 as Officials Warn of Deadly New Strain

Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have raised alarm over a worsening Ebola outbreak that has already claimed at least 80 lives in the country’s eastern region.

According to the Ministry of Health, nearly 250 suspected cases of the highly infectious disease have been recorded in Ituri Province, while one Ebola-related death has also been reported in neighbouring Uganda, increasing fears of cross-border transmission.

The outbreak was officially confirmed on Friday and involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which currently has no approved vaccine or specific treatment.

DRC Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba warned that the strain carries a “very high” fatality rate that could reach 50 percent.

Health officials said the suspected first patient was a nurse who visited a medical facility in Bunia on April 24 after developing Ebola-like symptoms. The virus has since spread across three health zones in Ituri, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongwalu.

Laboratory testing conducted by the National Institute of Biomedical Research confirmed eight positive Ebola cases from 13 blood samples analysed. Five additional samples could not be tested because of insufficient material.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention expressed concern that the outbreak could spread rapidly due to intense population movement, crowded urban centres and heavy cross-border travel between the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan.

International aid organisations, including Médecins Sans Frontières and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, have deployed emergency response teams to assist containment efforts.

MSF emergency programme manager Trish Newport described the outbreak as “extremely concerning,” citing the rapid rise in infections and deaths across multiple health zones within a short period.

Ebola, first discovered in 1976, is a severe viral disease that causes bleeding, organ failure and death in many untreated cases. While vaccines exist for the Zaire strain, no vaccine is currently available for the Bundibugyo variant responsible for the current outbreak.

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