The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is battling the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak ever recorded, with 5,794 confirmed cases and 2,786 deaths now spread across 60 health zones. The outbreak, which began in mid-May, has reached two new areas: Biena and Manguredjipa, both in the eastern province of North Kivu.
The virus responsible is the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a type for which no approved vaccine or treatment exists. The overall fatality rate stands at 48 percent. In the newly affected zones, the rate is significantly higher, partly because the response has been slow to reach them.
The United Nations warned on Thursday that the outbreak is growing faster and wider than the response to contain it. If the current trajectory continues, the outbreak is on track to surpass the deadliest Ebola epidemic on record. The 2014 to 2016 outbreak in West Africa killed more than 11,000 people.
Containment efforts have been complicated by a combination of factors. Armed conflict in the affected provinces, population displacement, attacks on medical personnel and facilities, a highly mobile working population, and a lack of basic infrastructure have all slowed the response, according to Al Jazeera.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), known internationally as Doctors Without Borders, has 1,400 staff working in DRC to support the response. The organisation operates treatment centres with a total of 400 beds and has opened a new treatment centre in Beni.
On Thursday, the DRC government began vaccinating frontline workers against Ebola. Health workers and others directly involved in the outbreak response are being prioritised. Health Minister Roger Kamba said: "We have decided to use the Ervebo vaccine to protect first those who are on the front line."
The Ervebo vaccine has proven effective in past Ebola outbreaks, but those outbreaks were caused by a different, more common strain. Whether it offers meaningful protection against the Bundibugyo strain remains unknown. No approved treatment for Bundibugyo exists.
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