Follow-up: Africa CDC Says Congo Ebola Outbreak Still Out of Control, Death Toll Tops 5,500

Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), told Reuters in an interview on November 15 that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains serious and still out of control, six months after it was declared. According to Congolese government data, more than 11,200 infections and more than 5,500 deaths have been reported since the outbreak was announced on May 15.

Kaseya said more than 80 percent of new cases are emerging outside known contact lists and more than 65 percent of deaths are occurring in the community, outside health centers, while Ebola is most contagious during the late stages of the disease. "If we don't stop this outbreak now, it would be the worst Ebola outbreak that the world will have," he said.

The outbreak, driven by the rare Bundibugyo species of the virus, is the second-largest on record, after the 2014-16 West African outbreak, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000.

Kaseya said the response is also hampered by deadly attacks on health workers, staff who have gone unpaid for months and a lack of resources. Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières said this week that help is still not reaching hotspots, pointing to untrained staff, ambulances without fuel and a lack of surveillance teams.

Some $2.9 billion has been pledged in all. Kaseya called on donors to release around $1.6 billion in pledged aid and to work closely with Kinshasa to ensure money is not wasted through duplication. "We are not pointing fingers," he said. "We are saying it's a collective failure." He acknowledged some health workers had not been paid for months and said Congo's government was working to digitize the payroll.

(Source: Reuters)

Source: Reuters

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：刚果（金）红十字志愿者在伊图里省 Bunia 附近的 Bembei 执行埃博拉安全安葬（2026年8月，本轮疫情期间）。Priscilla Lecomte 为联合国人道主义事务协调厅拍摄，CC BY-SA 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: DR Congo Red Cross volunteers carry out a safe and dignified Ebola burial near Bunia, Ituri (August 2026, during the current outbreak). Priscilla Lecomte for UNOCHA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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