BUNIA, Congo — At least 80 deaths have been reported in Congo’s new Ebola disease outbreak in the eastern province of Ituri, authorities said, as health workers raced Saturday to intensify screening and contact-tracing to contain the disease.
Officials first announced the outbreak Friday, with 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases. The toll has since risen to at least 80.
Associated Press journalists in Ituri’s capital, Bunia, interviewed locals who discussed their fears and a steady procession of burials.
“Every day, people are dying … and this has been going on for about a week. In a single day, we bury two, three or even more people,” said Jean Marc Asimwe, a resident of Bunia. “At this point, we don’t really know what kind of disease it is.”
Congolese Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said late Friday that there have been eight laboratory-confirmed cases, among them four deaths.
Test results confirmed the Bundibugyo virus, a variant of the disease that has been less prominent in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s past outbreaks. This is Congo’s 17th outbreak since Ebola first emerged in the country in 1976, when it was known as Zaire.
Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare but severe, and often fatal.
The suspected index case in the latest outbreak is a nurse who died at a hospital in Bunia, Kamba said. He said the case dates to April 24.
He did not say whether samples from the nurse were tested, but said the person presented symptoms suggestive of Ebola.
Confirmed case in Uganda
Uganda confirmed Friday an Ebola case that authorities said was “imported” from Congo. The person died at the Kibuli Muslim Hospital in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, on Thursday.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was concerned about the risk of further spread due to the proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan.
The body of the patient who died in Kampala was taken back to Congo and no other local case has been confirmed, Uganda’s Health Ministry said.
On Saturday, people were being screened at the entrance of the Kibuli Muslim Hospital in Kampala.
Ismail Kigongo, who resides in the capital, said the new outbreak reminded him of his father, who died during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I really get scared because I remember burying my father without looking at his body,” he said.
Kenya, Uganda’s neighbor, said Saturday that there was only a “moderate risk of importation” of the Ebola virus from regional travel. Kenya’s government said it has formed an Ebola preparedness team and has strengthened surveillance at all points of entry.
Congo’s logistical challenges
Congo has experience managing Ebola outbreaks but often faces logistical challenges in delivering expertise and supplies to affected regions.
As Africa’s second-largest country by land area, Congo has far-flung provinces, many torn by conflict. Ituri is about 600 miles from the nation’s capital, Kinshasa, and is ravaged by violence from Islamic State-backed militants.
The disease has been confirmed in three health zones in Ituri province, including Bunia and the areas of Rwampara and Mongwalu, where the outbreak is concentrated.
Only 13 blood samples have been tested at the National Institute of Biomedical Research; eight tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain. The remaining five could not be analyzed because of insufficient sample volume, the health minister said.
In Bunia, businesses and regular activities in public places appeared normal Friday.
Resident Adeline Awekonimungu said she hopes the outbreak is quickly contained. “My recommendation is that the government take this matter seriously and that it takes charge of the hospitals so that this matter can be brought under control,” she said.
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