The deadly Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo is expanding in scope. An infected US citizen will receive treatment in Germany, as confirmed by the Federal Ministry of Health on Tuesday. The outbreak has now claimed more than 130 lives in the Congo. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed being "very concerned" about the "scale and speed" of the Ebola spread.
The German Federal Ministry of Health confirmed that US authorities "requested the German government's assistance in treating a US citizen who contracted Ebola in the Congo." Preparations are now being made for this purpose. The ministry initially declined to provide further details but pointed out that Germany has a nationwide network of experts for treating patients with highly contagious diseases.
According to the Christian US aid organization SIM USA, the patient is one of their doctors. The US health authority CDC stated on Monday that a US citizen had contracted the Ebola virus "in the course of their work in the Democratic Republic of Congo." The individual developed symptoms over the weekend and tested positive for the dangerous virus late Sunday evening, said CDC official Satish Pillai.
German citizens are not subject to a nationwide travel warning for the Democratic Republic of Congo, but only for several provinces. However, the current travel advisory from the German Foreign Office in Berlin states: "Non-essential travel to the remaining parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, including the capital Kinshasa, is advised against."
The United States is also attempting to evacuate six additional individuals from the Congo for health monitoring. To protect their population, US authorities announced passenger screening from Ebola outbreak areas as well as the suspension of visa issuance.
Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba reported a significant increase in the presumed Ebola-caused death toll during the night of Tuesday. According to the latest figures, 131 out of a total of 513 suspected cases have died.
President Félix Tshisekedi called for calm on Tuesday. He instructed the government to immediately implement all necessary measures for intensified Ebola control, according to a message published by the Presidential Office on X.
The WHO declared a "public health emergency of international concern" over the weekend due to the epidemic – its second-highest alert level. The African Union's health authority declared a state of emergency for the entire continent on Monday evening due to the "high risk of regional spread."
The epicenter of the epidemic is located in Ituri, a province in northeastern DR Congo that borders Uganda and South Sudan. Suspected cases have also been reported from the neighboring province of North Kivu. Two patients in neighboring Uganda were Congolese nationals, one of whom died.
The WHO convened a crisis meeting on the epidemic for Tuesday. WHO chief Tedros raised his concerns at the World Health Assembly, which continues through Saturday in Geneva. The Ebola epidemic is likely to influence the deliberations there, even though it is not on the official agenda.
The WHO representative in Congo, Anne Ancia, warned on Tuesday: "I do not believe this epidemic will be over in two months." She recalled that the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2018 to 2020 lasted two years. That outbreak resulted in nearly 2,300 deaths.
The scale of the current epidemic will depend "on the speed of our response, our ability to quickly stop transmission," emphasized Ancia, who spoke to journalists in Geneva via video link from the Congolese city of Bunia.
Several tons of aid supplies such as Ebola tests and protective equipment are en route to the affected areas. Additionally, according to Ancia, the WHO is examining at the international level whether existing vaccines or medications "could be useful" in containing this outbreak.
The current Ebola epidemic is caused by the rare Bundibugyo variant. There is no vaccine or targeted therapy against it. The mortality rate of this variant ranges from 30 to 50 percent.
Another difficulty in combating the epidemic is that infections are occurring in hard-to-reach locations as well as in areas where armed groups are active. François Moreillon of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on the conflict parties not to hinder aid deliveries and operations. His organization activated its highest intervention level and plans to bring protective equipment to the affected areas in the coming days.
"We are extremely concerned about the situation, as the humanitarian need is already enormous," stated Julie Drouet, country director of the aid organization Action Against Hunger in DR Congo. In light of international cuts to humanitarian aid, she demanded that particularly vulnerable healthcare workers and the population must not be "left in the lurch in such a crisis."
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