The Democratic Republic of Congo’s worst Ebola epidemic ever has passed 7,000 recorded cases, with nearly 3,400 people dead as the highly infectious disease continues to spread across the country.
According to the latest figures released by Congolese authorities, 7,022 cases have been recorded since the outbreak began, while 3,398 people have died and 1,671 have recovered.
The scale of the outbreak has heightened fears among families and health workers, particularly in Ituri province, where Ebola has been detected in schools following the return of pupils from the summer holiday.
The latest epidemic was officially detected in mid-May after the disease was believed to have been spreading undetected for several weeks. It is the 17th Ebola epidemic recorded in the country.
The outbreak began in northeastern Ituri province before spreading to remote and conflict-affected areas in eastern and northern DRC, where armed groups have operated for decades, state presence remains weak and access to healthcare is limited.
Earlier this week, authorities confirmed that Ebola had spread to a seventh province, South-Ubangi, which borders both the Central African Republic and Congo-Brazzaville.
For parents in affected communities, the spread of the disease into schools has created a new source of anxiety.
“We are very worried because we don’t know which child comes from which family or what the health status of the members of that family is,” Angele Magani, a mother of a schoolboy in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, told AFP.
“We are so scared, even though the school authorities reassure us about the health measures that have been put in place,” she added.
Schools in Bunia have introduced measures aimed at reducing transmission. Roger Mungimbo, a school official, said pupils are required to wash their hands with soap, while class sizes have been limited to a maximum of 30 students.
“We regularly make the children aware that they must not touch each other, must not greet each other and must wash their hands regularly,” Mungimbo said.
The current epidemic is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment, although several vaccines and treatments are being tested.
Ebola is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and can cause severe internal and external bleeding, organ failure and death. The disease has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.
With more than 7,000 cases now recorded, the DRC is facing a major public-health challenge as authorities work to contain an epidemic that is reaching schools and spreading into communities already weakened by conflict, limited healthcare infrastructure and difficult access to affected areas.