The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has officially declared an Ebola outbreak in the eastern Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
According to health authorities, around 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths have been reported so far, mainly in the gold mining towns of Mongwalu and Rwampara.
The agency announced that emergency meetings are being organised with officials from DR Congo, Uganda, South Sudan and international health partners to coordinate response measures and strengthen cross border surveillance.
Ebola was first discovered in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is believed to have originated from bats. This marks the country’s 17th Ebola outbreak.
The virus spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids and can cause severe bleeding, organ failure and death. Early symptoms include fever, muscle pain, fatigue, headache and sore throat.
Preliminary laboratory testing carried out at the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale in Kinshasa confirmed the presence of the Ebola virus in 13 out of 20 samples examined.
Additional suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri, while laboratory confirmation is still pending for several patients.
Although the Congolese government had not officially declared the outbreak at the time of reporting, authorities indicated that a formal announcement was expected soon.
Ituri province has remained under military administration since 2021 due to ongoing security challenges involving multiple armed groups operating in the region, including the Allied Democratic Forces.
Health officials fear that insecurity and population movement could complicate efforts to contain the outbreak quickly.
Over the past five decades, Ebola outbreaks across Africa have caused tens of thousands of deaths. DR Congo’s deadliest outbreak occurred between 2018 and 2020, when nearly 2,300 people died.
Last year, another outbreak in Kasai province claimed 45 lives.
