A grim new milestone in Central Africa. For the first time in this outbreak, confirmed Ebola cases in Congo have gone above 8000.

According to data reported by cbinews.tv, the latest situation report from the public health institute on Monday, September 28, put cases at 8067 with 3901 deaths.

Behind each number is a family, a health worker, a community now stretched to breaking point. With a fatality rate close to half, this is not just a statistic; it is a public health emergency hitting some of the hardest-to-reach areas.

This outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo species, is now officially the largest and deadliest in Congo's history, overtaking the 2018 to 2020 epidemic in the east that killed more than 2000 people. Globally, it is now second only to the devastating West Africa outbreak of 2014 to 2016, which infected over 28600 and killed more than 11000 across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Bundibugyo is one of six known Ebola species. It is rarer than the Zaire strain but still causes severe fever, vomiting and internal bleeding and spreads through close contact with bodily fluids.

There is no licensed vaccine yet specific to this species, so control relies on rapid case finding, isolation, safe burials and community trust.

Health authorities and partners are ramping up surveillance, contact tracing and care centres, with fresh focus on community engagement to stop the spread. The key question now is whether support and supplies can keep pace with cases.

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