Previously, three Congolese provinces were affected by Ebola: Ituri (bordering Uganda and South Sudan), neighbouring North Kivu, and South Kivu. Twenty cases, including two deaths, have been recorded in Uganda.
Haut-Uélé now becomes the fourth Congolese province to report cases. Located next to Ituri, it shares borders with South Sudan and the Central African Republic.
An infected person travelled from Ituri to Haut-Uélé, bringing the virus into the region. Health authorities confirmed that the patient has died.
Health officials are working to trace the transmission chain and identify potential contact cases. In many instances, the disease has spread during funeral ceremonies. The body of an Ebola victim remains highly contagious.
For weeks, humanitarian workers on the ground have been trying to organise safe burials in affected areas that adhere to strict health measures, aiming to prevent any human contact with the deceased, despite significant community resistance.
In DR Congo and across Africa, funeral rites often last several days, with family members and relatives typically touching the body of the deceased during these ceremonies.
These regions are also plagued by armed group violence
In recent weeks, incidents have been reported at several health centres, often sparked by angry community members demanding the bodies of their relatives. Haut-Uélé shares similar characteristics with Ituri: both are situated at the crossroads of several countries and are rich in gold, making them hubs of intense exchange and transit, which facilitates the spread of the virus.
These areas are also suffering from armed group violence. In Ituri, massacres have occurred regularly for about ten years, perpetrated by community militias or the ADF armed group, which is affiliated with the Islamic State.
The ADF has recently carried out incursions into Haut-Uélé, which is also destabilised by armed groups from neighbouring countries. The security context in which the Ebola epidemic continues to grow poses a challenge for the health response, which was launched late. Humanitarians and scientists say health authorities were slow to detect the virus.
According to preliminary epidemiological investigations still to be confirmed, the first suspected deaths may date back to January. In Ituri, efforts have recently been stepped up, but health facilities, which often operate with limited resources in one of the world’s poorest countries, still lack basic equipment such as protective kits and chlorine.
Ebola treatment centres set up with teams from the WHO and several NGOs are already overwhelmed, with an occupancy rate exceeding 138%, according to the National Institute of Public Health (INSP). So far, 78 health workers have been infected, 18 of whom have died.
Experts and health authorities agree that more than six weeks after the official declaration of the epidemic, the peak has not yet been reached, and the crisis could last between six months and a year. Ebola, which is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids, has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.
The deadliest outbreak in DR Congo recorded nearly 2,300 deaths out of 3,500 cases between 2018 and 2020.
