The Ebola outbreak in Congo is already the worst in the country's history

BarcelonaWhile the wars in Ukraine, Iran, and Gaza concentrate a large part of international attention, a health emergency is growing stealthily in the heart of Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is facing the Ebola outbreak with the most recorded cases since the virus was detected in the country almost half a century ago. The rate of contagion is increasing with unprecedented speed; the health system is overwhelmed, and humanitarian organizations warn that the lack of resources is preventing the containment of an epidemic that has already become the second-largest in terms of cases in world history.

According to the latest official figures, 3,748 people have been infected since the outbreak was officially declared on May 15, of whom 1,657 have died. In less than three months, the disease has already surpassed in number of infections the epidemic that ravaged the east of the country between 2018 and 2020, although it still remains far from the more than 28,000 infections recorded in the largest outbreak in history, which took place in West Africa between 2014 and 2016.

Beyond what the data show, on the ground the sense of health and humanitarian emergency is worsening: “The situation is critical, it is out of control,” warns from Bunia, in the Ituri province – the epicenter of the outbreak – anthropologist Manel Rebordosa, who works for the Oxfam team in Congo.

As it is an endemic disease, the DRC has health personnel "capable of responding to Ebola epidemics," Rebordosa explains to ARA. Despite this, the anthropologist points out a determining factor for the rapid spread of this outbreak: “The most different thing compared to previous epidemics is the low availability of resources.” While only a few years ago it was relatively easy to mobilize teams, install drinking water systems, or deploy ambulances, now many of these basic needs are not met. As a consequence, many patients die in their communities even before they can be diagnosed, which also facilitates the spread of the virus.

The case of Congo shows how different humanitarian emergencies compete with each other for the distribution of increasingly scarce resources. According to Rebordosa, this funding deficit responds to a "change in global priorities". Cuts in international cooperation in recent years, the dissolution of USAID and the reorientation of resources towards conflicts with more geopolitical interests at stake, such as those in Ukraine or the Middle East, have reduced the capacity to respond to less visible emergencies. "Congo is outside the focus of international action," he laments.

This situation is compounded by a distrust that hinders early detection of the virus. "People have stopped going to health centers because they are afraid of getting infected," explains Rebordosa, who also warns that, in many communities, rumors are circulating that deny the existence of the disease or claim it has been deliberately introduced into hospitals.

Violence of armed groups

Panic is intensifying due to the chronic presence of armed groups in the country. Since the start of the outbreak, more than sixty attacks have been recorded against health personnel, especially against teams in charge of safe burials, a practice essential to prevent new infections, but which often conflicts with local funeral traditions. Although insecurity does discourage some Congolese from attending hospitals, Rebordosa dismisses that this has a decisive effect on the effective management of the outbreak.

The virus circulated for almost two months undetected and, when the authorities officially confirmed the epidemic, community transmission was already widespread. The outbreak corresponds to the Bundibugyo strain, with a fatality rate of 44.2%, for which there are still no authorized vaccines or specific treatments. Currently, five Congolese provinces have accumulated confirmed cases and nearly 700 people remain hospitalized or isolated.

The World Health Organization considers that the risk of global expansion of the virus, which is only transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids, remains low. However, it maintains the risk of it spreading through sub-Saharan Africa at an "high" level. The Ugandan government has managed to eradicate the outbreak after detecting and interrupting the transmission chain, with a balance of 20 infected and two deaths. A case that is an exception within the weakness of the health systems of neighboring countries, deeply dependent on international cooperation.