Amanda Crouse
News Editor
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO –– On Oct. 31, the number of confirmed deaths from the most recent Ebola virus epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) surpassed 5,000, making it the deadliest epidemic on the country’s record. Since the epidemic was first declared in May, over 10,000 people have been infected with the virus.
The DRC’s north-eastern region is a hub of infection, primarily because militia conflict has made it difficult for health officials to enforce containment measures. International infection rates have been minimal, with only 30 cases of Ebola related to the current outbreak being reported outside the DRC.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Ebola disease is caused by a group of viruses, known as orthoebolaviruses.” The current epidemic has been particularly difficult to respond to because it originates from a newer strain of the virus that has not been studied as deeply as other variants.
The Ebola outbreak that spread throughout West Africa from 2014-2016 is from a strain known as the Zaire virus, while the 2026 outbreak in the DRC comes from the Bundibugyo virus. Before this year, healthcare professionals in the DRC were not testing for the Bundibugyo strain, so many people infected with the virus went undetected.
Ebola symptoms often present as mild illness at first, which can lead people to put off seeking medical examination until the disease has become life-threatening. Trust in healthcare workers is also low among Congolese people, many of whom have been jaded by abusive, colonial medical practices from when the region was under Belgian imperial control.
According to National Public Radio (NPR), around one third of deaths from the current epidemic have been child deaths. Children under five are particularly at risk of dying from the virus due to their less-developed immune systems.
This Ebola outbreak is the seventeenth in the DRC’s history, with the first being recorded in 1976, when the disease was discovered.
There is no approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, although multiple health and research institutions are working to develop one. The University of Oxford’s Oxford Vaccine Group was the first organization to launch a Phase I clinical trial for a Bundibugyo vaccine. Recruitment for the trial began in July, and the first vaccines were administered on Oct. 6.
Meanwhile, on Oct. 28, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative was awarded $36 million to develop a Bundibugyo virus vaccine. The award was funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.
