100 days of Ebola disease outbreak

Almost 100 days since the Ebola disease outbreak was declared in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warns that communities do not have enough support to contain the disease. This outbreak has become the largest and deadliest in the country’s history and continues to spread at an alarming rate within a country already grappling with conflict, violence, displacement, hunger and other diseases.

From May 15, when the outbreak was declared, until Aug. 18, national authorities have reported more than 5,200 confirmed cases and more than 2,400 deaths.

Since the outbreak was officially declared, more than 60 per cent of Ebola disease deaths in DRC have occurred outside – and often far away from – Ebola Treatment Centres. This means many people are dying at home or in their communities without receiving care and the virus continues to spread before cases are detected. Worryingly, case numbers are rising rapidly beyond the epicentre of Ituri, with North Kivu province experiencing particularly high levels of mortality and mistrust in the response.

MSF is currently responding across Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo and Haut-Uélé provinces. Teams are operating seven Ebola Treatment Centres, as well as isolation units, in affected areas, with more than 430 beds available — representing one third of all beds in the overall response. More than 1,400 MSF staff are supporting the response. Since the start of the outbreak, our teams have admitted more than 1,950 patients, of which more than 750 patients, were confirmed to have Ebola disease.

By donating today, you can help MSF deliver critical medical care to
people affected by Ebola in DRC and support our emergency teams responding to crises in more than 70 countries around the world.

Thank you for standing with our teams at this urgent moment.