Canada and US restrict travel from Congo as Ebola outbreak accelerates; WHO warns cases may be two to four times higher than reported

Travel bans take effect

Canada will deny entry to foreign nationals who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo within the past 21 days, starting Monday 20 July, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced on 19 July. Canadian citizens and permanent residents are exempt but must complete a 21-day quarantine if they visited the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan in the three weeks before arrival. The agency described the move as precautionary, noting that the risk is low and no travel-related cases have been detected in Canada. The United States has also tightened its border restrictions for travellers from the DRC, though details remain sparse. Aid organisations and medical experts have warned that such measures could hamper the humanitarian response to what is now the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record.

An outbreak outpacing the response

The World Health Organization says the epidemic, declared two months ago, is spreading more rapidly than any previous Ebola outbreak. As of 15 July, the WHO had recorded 2,124 cases and 828 deaths in the DRC. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the agency's director of health emergencies, cautioned that the true scale could be "two to four times" higher than official figures. Africa CDC's head of emergencies, Wessam Mankoula, echoed that alarm during an online press conference.

Unfortunately, the virus continues to grow faster than we can respond to bring it under control. We are facing an Ebola epidemic that is advancing faster than ever.

Médecins Sans Frontières had already warned in mid-June of "dangerous gaps" in the response, saying the epidemic was evolving faster than the capacity to react.

Divergent numbers point to undercounting

Different agencies report markedly different tolls, reflecting the difficulty of tracking the disease in conflict-affected eastern Congo. The Africa CDC cites 1,759 infections and 600 deaths since the start of the epidemic, while SIC Notícias reports nearly 900 fatalities and about 2,000 confirmed cases. Uganda, where the outbreak has also appeared, has recorded only 2 deaths among 20 cases and appears to have contained the spread.

Funeral transport a critical vector

The International Organization for Migration warns that the movement of victims' bodies between regions for community funerals remains a major public health risk. Ebola stays highly contagious after death, and improper handling can seed new chains of transmission.

The outbreak is growing about 70% compared to what we observed two weeks ago, with an average of more than 40 new cases recorded daily.

Andrew Mbala of the IOM stressed that the risk hinges on whether body management is done properly. About 400 people have recovered, and 700 remain in isolation or hospitalised.

No vaccine for the Bundibugyo variant

The DRC has experienced 17 Ebola epidemics, but no vaccine exists for the Bundibugyo variant driving the current outbreak. The deadliest Ebola epidemic in history, which swept West Africa between late 2013 and 2016, claimed more than 11,300 lives from roughly 29,000 recorded cases, with over 99% of infections occurring in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.