Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported that the ongoing Ebola outbreak, while still severe, has shown signs of easing in some regions. Despite this improvement, the death toll from the epidemic has surpassed 4,000, making it the country’s largest and deadliest recorded Ebola crisis to date.

At a press briefing in Kinshasa on Friday, Health Minister Roger Kamba indicated that the outbreak is no longer widespread at the provincial level but has become concentrated within specific health zones. Of the 63 affected zones across seven provinces, 12 have not reported new cases for at least 42 days, a key benchmark for declaring transmission interruption. The outbreak, declared in May, has so far resulted in 8,300 confirmed cases and 4,018 deaths, yielding a case fatality rate of approximately 48.4 percent. More than 2,100 patients have recovered.

Despite these positive indicators, international health organizations caution that actual case numbers and fatalities may be higher than reported, due to ongoing challenges in disease surveillance and case detection in hard-to-reach areas. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has highlighted difficulties posed by insecurity and community mistrust, which impede response efforts and the delivery of care.

The crisis has also affected humanitarian operations directly. Earlier this week, soldiers searching for weapons set fire to a displacement camp on the outskirts of Bunia in Ituri province, forcing about 19,000 residents to flee. The camp housed a transit center for Ebola patients, and its destruction has hampered treatment capacity, according to Julien Harneis, the UN’s senior Ebola coordinator. “When we lose a center, we lose capacity, we lose investment, and above all, people do not get access to the care they need,” Harneis said.

The outbreak’s toll on health workers has been particularly severe, with at least 50 medical personnel confirmed dead after contracting the virus. MSF reported that one of its aid workers infected while responding in the DRC was evacuated to the Netherlands and is being treated in a high-level isolation unit.

Efforts to improve diagnosis and treatment include the deployment of mobile laboratories, which have reduced testing turnaround from 72 hours to six hours in some areas. These mobile units, easily transported to emerging hotspots such as Katwa, have improved access to timely diagnostics, according to local health officials.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the outbreak continues to spread into new areas, stretching limited resources. While weekly new cases and deaths have declined since mid-July, the situation remains volatile. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) noted that security issues and lack of community cooperation complicate response efforts, with some zones experiencing acceleration in transmission.

Adding to the challenges is the local mistrust surrounding government and health efforts. This tension surfaced violently recently in Butembo, North Kivu province, when Marie-Célestin Karondwa, a local official who publicly endorsed government Ebola efforts, was beaten to death. His killing underscores the difficulties faced in gaining community support critical to controlling the outbreak.

The current Ebola epidemic in the DRC is now the second largest worldwide, trailing only the West Africa outbreak of 2014-2016, which claimed approximately 11,000 lives. As containment efforts continue, health authorities emphasize the need for sustained funding, security, and community engagement to curb the epidemic.