The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has recorded more than 8,000 confirmed Ebola cases and nearly 4,000 deaths in the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak, according to the latest data from Congolese health authorities.

The outbreak, caused by the relatively rare Bundibugyo virus, was officially declared in May and has continued to expand despite intensified efforts to contain the disease. The latest figures cited by AFP show 8,067 cases, including 3,901 deaths and 2,070 recoveries, putting the reported case-fatality rate at 48.4%.

The outbreak began in northeastern Ituri province but has since spread to seven provinces, with Ituri, North Kivu and Haut-Uele accounting for the majority of cases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sept. 25 that the outbreak had expanded to 63 health zones across seven provinces, including South Ubangi, which was newly affected. As of Sept. 23, the DRC had reported 7,890 confirmed cases and 3,799 deaths, with the number of new cases remaining high.

The WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in May, citing the severity of the disease and the risk of international spread. The organization has warned that insecurity, population displacement and cross-border movement are complicating efforts to detect cases and interrupt transmission.

Health authorities and humanitarian organizations are facing significant operational challenges in some of the affected areas.

Armed-group activity and attacks on healthcare facilities have restricted the movement of response teams and made it more difficult to reach patients, conduct surveillance and trace contacts. WHO reported in August that at least 12 attacks on healthcare had been recorded since the international emergency was declared.

Mistrust among some communities has also complicated the response, while health facilities in remote areas face shortages of staff, equipment and other essential supplies.

The Congolese health authorities have reported attacks on healthcare workers, including the killing of a health worker at a checkpoint in North Kivu.

The response is further complicated by the fact that there is currently no licensed vaccine specifically designed to protect against Bundibugyo virus disease.

The Ervebo vaccine, which is licensed against the Zaire strain of Ebola, has been deployed in the DRC as part of a clinical trial. In August, 70,000 doses were allocated from the global Ebola vaccine stockpile, with 20,000 designated for a clinical trial and the remainder intended for frontline workers.

However, the WHO cautions that it remains unclear whether Ervebo provides meaningful protection against the Bundibugyo virus in humans. Updated guidance issued in September recommends that the vaccine be used against Bundibugyo virus only within research protocols while evidence on its effectiveness is gathered.

Several candidate vaccines and other medical interventions are also being studied as researchers seek tools specifically targeting the Bundibugyo strain.

International partners have increased support for the response as the outbreak has continued to grow.

The United States announced on Sept. 23 an additional $267 million in health and humanitarian assistance for the DRC's Ebola response. According to the U.S. State Department, the funding will support Ebola treatment units, safe and dignified burial teams, protective equipment, disease surveillance and contact tracing. The United States said its total direct health and humanitarian assistance for the outbreak had reached $887 million.

Despite the increase in international assistance, health agencies continue to warn that the combination of rapid transmission, insecurity, limited healthcare capacity and population mobility is making the outbreak particularly difficult to contain.

The current epidemic is the DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976 and has become the largest Bundibugyo virus outbreak recorded to date. (ILKHA)