Ebola Outbreak in Eastern DRC Kills at Least 240 Since Early May

Ebola has killed at least 240 people in Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the outbreak began earlier this month, according to The Guardian. The virus has also reached other parts of eastern DRC and the Ugandan capital Kampala.

Ituri is a mining area and conflict zone where thousands work in close quarters and displaced people live in crowded camps. Medical facilities are limited and laboratory testing capacity is low, making early detection difficult.

Lame, Ebola outbreak response coordinator for NGO Alima in Ituri, said symptoms resemble malaria and typhoid, so many cases go unrecognized. He added that patients who arrive early have a higher chance of survival, but late arrivals face high fatality rates.

At least five doctors and nurses have died after treating patients at Bunia Evangelical medical centre. Local communities have expressed distrust of health facilities, and some families have resisted safe-burial rules, leading to attacks on treatment centres.

U.S. foreign assistance to the DRC has fallen from $1.4 billion in 2024 to $21 million so far this year. Selena Victor, senior director of policy and advocacy for Mercy Corps, said the rapid-response system built after the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak has been largely dismantled. University of Oxford researchers are developing a vaccine that could enter clinical trials within two months.