Africa CDC says Congo Ebola outbreak remains uncontrolled at 6 months

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday that Ebola remains uncontrolled in the Democratic Republic of the Congo six months after its declaration, as health workers face deadly attacks and unpaid wages.

The agency, known as Africa CDC, cited a shortage of resources. Government figures put infections above 11,200 since the outbreak's May 15 announcement.

"If we don't stop this outbreak now, it would be the worst Ebola outbreak that the world will have," Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya told Reuters.

Government data put the death toll at 5,500, compared with 5,400 in an Africa CDC statement.

Seven in 10 children under five with confirmed Ebola have died, according to the agency. UNICEF said children made up 35% of deaths recorded through Nov. 4.

Kaseya said contact lists do not include people who account for more than 80% of new cases, while over 65% of deaths have taken place in communities rather than health centres. Africa CDC said those community deaths indicate infections are still being detected too late, with 400 to 500 new cases reported weekly.

Unpaid workers and attacks

Some health workers have gone months without pay, Kaseya said, adding that the Congolese government was working to digitise the payroll. Repeated strikes over overdue wages have sometimes left patients with confirmed infections untreated, The Associated Press reported.

Attacks have also killed some workers. Africa CDC said health care has faced more than 80 attacks since the outbreak was declared and urged an immediate halt to hostilities.

The agency said a recent armed attack in Cantine-Aloya left 66 civilians dead, including three health workers, while three health facilities were looted. Afterward, follow-up was lost for more than 1,000 contacts, and three confirmed cases remain unaccounted for.

A second attack on the town was reported early Nov. 11.

Donor funding

Donors have disbursed only $1.3 billion of their $2.9 billion in Ebola pledges, Kaseya said. He called coordination between donors and the government a collective failure, adding, "We are not pointing fingers."

Doctors Without Borders said that "a troubling disconnect between the considerable resources mobilised for the response and what is actually reaching patients, frontline workers, and communities continues."

In October, Africa CDC raised concerns that more than $700 million in Ebola aid remained unaccounted for, AP reported.

The agency also cited progress. It said most early epicentres, including Mongbwalu and Butembo, were under control, while almost 90% of registered deaths were now managed with a safe and dignified burial.

The World Health Organization said at least 3,000 people in Congo have recovered and returned home.

Ebola cases have appeared across East, Central and West Africa in what is the widest geographic spread recorded for an outbreak of the disease. AP reported confirmed cases in Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda, while Africa CDC referred to recent imported cases in Kenya and Nigeria.

Within Congo, cases are concentrated in eastern Ituri and North Kivu, where armed conflict includes fighting involving the Rwanda-backed M23. Eight of the country's 26 provinces have been affected.

The rare Bundibugyo strain is responsible for the outbreak, and the absence of a vaccine or treatment developed specifically for it has made containment especially difficult, Al Jazeera reported. By the outbreak's announcement, 43 deaths had already been recorded, AP reported.

Only the 2014-2016 West African epidemic was larger, infecting more than 28,600 people and killing more than 11,000.

In November, the WHO approved clinical trials for two new Ebola vaccines and said it expects results in early 2027.