DRC Ebola Outbreak Approaches Deadliest on Record; Survivors Visit Beni Schools to Share Prevention Experience

The Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to deteriorate, having spread to six provinces, with cumulative confirmed cases exceeding 6,600 and the death toll approaching 3,200. According to Africanews and the Associated Press, the World Health Organization has said the outbreak has the potential to surpass the more than 11,000 deaths recorded during the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic and become the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history.

The outbreak is spreading under extremely difficult conditions. Citing health authorities, Africanews reported that rebel violence, massive population displacement and frequent population movements have accelerated the spread of the virus, while fragile health and surveillance systems, along with gaps in contact tracing and laboratory testing capacity, have further hampered containment efforts. Health authorities estimate the true scale of the outbreak could be three times the official figures.

Adding to the concern, no approved vaccine or treatment currently exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola now in circulation. Authorities have begun administering the Ervebo vaccine to frontline health workers, but the WHO has said there is no confirmed evidence that the vaccine can provide protection against the current strain. In the absence of a targeted vaccine, containment depends almost entirely on basic public health measures such as isolation, contact tracing and infection control—measures that are precisely the weakest in the conflict-affected eastern region, where infrastructure has collapsed.

In the outbreak's epicenter of Beni, an Ebola survivors' association entered schools at the start of the new term to pass on prevention experience face-to-face with students. Survivor Gisèle Nziavake said she was there to "share our experience and pass on these lessons."

Yet these schools themselves lack even the most basic conditions for prevention. Mapambazuko Primary School teacher Rebecca Kahindo Kaputu said: "First, although we have taps, often there is no water for two or three days, or even four days. Second, we don't even have thermometers." Without a reliable water supply and basic screening tools, ensuring that schoolchildren maintain hand hygiene and recognize early symptoms has become a near-impossible task.