MSF: Ebola outbreak in DRC spreading at alarming rate

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has called for an urgent expansion of the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), warning that the outbreak is spreading at an unprecedented rate.

MSF says the risks are becoming even harder to contain without stronger international support.

Two months after the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, was officially declared, the country has recorded more than 2,000 confirmed cases and over 750 deaths, it said.

According to MSF the current outbreak is now the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record and the fastest-growing ever, with confirmed cases tripling from 650 to more than 2,000 in less than five weeks.

Deaths have also risen more than fivefold, from 130 to over 700 during the same period.

"Every delay costs lives. We are still chasing the outbreak instead of staying ahead of it," said Trish Newport, MSF Emergency Program Manager.

"More people become infected, more families lose loved ones, and the epidemic becomes harder to contain. We need stronger, more coordinated international action to move faster and improve access to both Ebola care and other essential health services."

MSF said the outbreak continues to spread into new areas, with limited access to healthcare, overstretched surveillance systems and mounting pressure on treatment centres leaving many communities without adequate medical support.

The organisation urged health authorities and humanitarian partners to increase resources for community engagement, surveillance, testing, diagnosis, patient care, survivor support and safe burial practices, while ensuring other essential health services remain available.

According to MSF, Ituri province remains the epicentre of the outbreak, accounting for about 90 per cent of all confirmed cases.

"In Mongbwalu, we are seeing the deadly human consequences of these gaps every day," said Ayokunnu Raji, an MSF medical doctor and Medical Program Manager.

"At the Ebola Treatment Centre, we continue to see patients arriving in critical condition, with little chance of survival. Since MSF started its Ebola response activities, we have treated 57 survivors, but more than 110 patients have died. Increased national and international resources would help prevent further transmission and loss of life."

MSF also warned that treatment facilities are struggling to cope with the growing number of patients.

"In Bunia, the 90-bed Elikiya Ebola Treatment Centre is almost always operating at full capacity," said Sylvie Kaczmarczyk, MSF Emergency Coordinator in Bunia.

"People regularly tell us they prefer to wait at home and come only when a bed becomes available. As a result, we continue to receive patients who arrive late and are already critically ill. It is devastating to know that many of these deaths could have been prevented through earlier diagnosis and timely access to care and treatment."

The organisation said strengthening surveillance, expanding testing and contact tracing, and bringing healthcare services closer to affected communities will be key to slowing the spread of the disease.

However, it noted that movement restrictions, including border closures and measures affecting humanitarian personnel, are hampering the deployment of specialised Ebola response teams.

MSF currently operates seven Ebola Treatment Centres and more than 15 isolation units across Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu and Tshopo provinces, with a combined capacity of more than 430 beds.

Since the outbreak started, MSF teams have admitted more than 968 patients, including 357 confirmed Ebola cases, while supporting the recovery of 116 survivors.

The organisation is also assisting the Ministry of Health with surveillance, community engagement, staff training and maintaining access to essential healthcare services.

MSF said the Ebola outbreak is unfolding alongside armed conflict, mass displacement and other health emergencies, including cholera and malaria, with the approaching rainy season expected to place additional pressure on the country's already strained health system.

"We cannot continue responding to the epidemic with the same limited resources while it continues to outpace us," Newport said.

"Only a robust, adequately resourced medical response that truly reflects the scale of needs on the ground can prevent this outbreak from becoming a crisis beyond our ability to contain. To achieve that, expanded international support is urgently needed."