Congo Ebola outbreak passes 11,000 confirmed cases

The Congo Ebola outbreak has now passed 11,000 confirmed cases, with 11,042 infections and at least 5,387 deaths recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to government figures released on Tuesday. Al Jazeera, reporting with Reuters, said it is the largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic in the country's history.

Health authorities are struggling to bring the virus under control. Delayed detection, armed conflict and overstretched health services have allowed it to spread faster than in earlier outbreaks.

Many of the deaths have happened outside treatment centres, which makes tracking the disease and protecting families and health workers even harder.

How big is the Congo Ebola outbreak?

The current epidemic is now the second-largest and second-deadliest Ebola outbreak on record. Only the 2014-2016 West African epidemic was worse. That outbreak infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000.

Key figures from the latest report:

• 11,042 confirmed cases in the DRC
• At least 5,387 deaths
• Eight of the country's 26 provinces affected
• Cases reported in East, Central and West Africa
• Vaccine trial results expected in early 2027

The spread of cases across East, Central and West Africa gives this outbreak the widest geographic reach of any Ebola epidemic on the continent so far.

Why the Bundibugyo strain is so hard to stop

The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, a rarer form of the disease. It kills about half of the people it infects.

Containment has been especially difficult because no vaccine or treatment has been developed specifically for this strain. The vaccine that has been used in earlier African outbreaks was designed against a different species of the virus, the Zaire strain.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization approved clinical trials of two new Ebola vaccines. It said it expects results in early 2027, which means health workers will have to rely on traditional measures for months to come.

Those measures include finding and isolating patients quickly, tracing the people they have been in contact with, protecting health workers with proper equipment, and making burials safe. Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person, or with contaminated materials, so care of the sick and handling of the dead carry particular risk.

Conflict and weak services slow the response

Eastern DRC has long been affected by fighting between armed groups, and insecurity can make it dangerous for response teams to reach communities. When people cannot easily get to clinics, cases are often found late, after the virus has already passed to relatives and neighbours.

Strained health services add to the problem. Hospitals and clinics in many affected areas have limited staff, supplies and isolation space, which makes it harder to treat patients safely and stop infections within health facilities.

The Al Jazeera report included a photo of a health worker checking the temperature of a visitor at an Ebola treatment centre in Beni, North Kivu province, on November 2. Temperature checks at the entrance to clinics and other public places are a common way to spot possible cases early.

The outbreak is centred in Africa, and the report did not mention any cases in Asia. Travellers planning trips to affected parts of Africa should follow official health advice from their own governments and the World Health Organization before they go.

Anyone who becomes unwell with a fever after returning from an affected area should seek medical advice promptly and tell doctors where they have travelled. Our guide on staying healthy while travelling in Thailand has general tips for visitors, and our report on the surge in hand, foot and mouth disease cases in Thailand covers a more local health concern.

International health emergencies often depend on outside support. Our earlier story on how the US pledged aid after the Myanmar earthquake shows how foreign help is mobilised when a disaster overwhelms local services.

The original report was published by Al Jazeera.

Image: Health workers at an open-air Ebola treatment unit run by MSF in Liberia during an earlier outbreak, similar to facilities used in the Congo Ebola outbreak response. Photo by CDC Global via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.