Without strong surveillance systems, outbreaks often spread silently before authorities can identify and contain them.
“So these gaps alone allow the outbreaks to grow before they are even recognized or effectively managed.”
Healthcare workers themselves are frequently among the most vulnerable. Limited protective equipment, overstretched clinics, and insufficient training can turn health facilities into transmission hubs rather than containment centers.
How West Africa broke the cycle
The DRC’s recurring outbreaks stand in contrast to West Africa, which suffered a catastrophic Ebola epidemic between 2014 and 2016 but has largely avoided repeated large-scale outbreaks since then.
The epidemic devastated Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with Sierra Leone recording the highest number of cases, while Liberia suffered the highest number of deaths.
More than 11,000 people across the region lost their lives during the outbreak, making it the deadliest Ebola epidemic in history.
“West Africa has largely avoided recurring large-scale outbreak due to the strengthened regional coordination, improved surveillance system, as well as sustained investment in preparedness,” Gumede-Moeletsi says.
The region learned hard lessons from the epidemic, and governments moved to strengthen cross-border coordination, invest in preparedness, improve disease surveillance, and train rapid-response teams.
“West Africa has demonstrated that investing in surveillance and networks, training the health workers and maintaining rapid response capacity can significantly reduce outbreak impact.”
But Gumede-Moeletsi cautions that solutions cannot simply be copied and pasted onto the DRC, citing its unique context, particularly in areas affected by the conflict.
A mutating virus
The current outbreak presents another complication: the strain involved has no approved vaccine.
“For this type of a strain of Ebola (Bundibugyo), unfortunately, there is no existing vaccine,” Gumede-Moeletsi says.
Related
While vaccines exist for the Zaire strain of Ebola, newer strains and variants continue to emerge as the virus mutates. As the virus changes genetically, older vaccines may become less effective.
“Unfortunately, this is how the virus survived,” the virologist reckons.
This evolutionary arms race is one reason Ebola remains such a persistent threat.
Community engagement
Despite scientific advances, one of the most powerful weapons against Ebola remains community engagement.
People living in outbreak areas are urged to avoid direct contact with symptomatic individuals, seek testing quickly, and cooperate with health authorities.
Gumede-Moeletsi emphasizes that community engagement is crucial, noting that distrust, misinformation, and fear have undermined previous Ebola responses in the DRC. Without public trust, even the best medical interventions can fail.
Beyond emergency response
The DRC’s Ebola crisis reveals a broader reality about global health security: outbreaks flourish where systems are weakest.
Ebola continues to strike the DRC not because the country lacks experience with the disease, but because the conditions that enable transmission — ecological exposure, insecurity, poverty, weak infrastructure, and fragile healthcare systems — remain deeply entrenched.
Until those structural vulnerabilities are addressed, the country may continue fighting the same deadly battle again and again.
The article was first published on TRT Afrika.
