On 1 August 2018, an Ebola outbreak was declared in DR Congo. This is the 10th Ebola epidemic so far in the country and the second biggest on record, after West Africa; it has now reached 595 confirmed cases and 343 deaths. Almost six months into the outbreak, the situation is still not under control especially in the area of Butembo, a city of one million inhabitants. Butembo and its surrounding areas like Kalunguta and Katwa have seen a noticeable increase of new cases recorded in the past few weeks. With a view to increasing our capacity for patient care MSF has increased the number of beds in the Butembo ETC – now up to 96 beds – and opened a second ETC in neighbouring Katwa. We also stepped up outreach activities to engage proactively the community and continue to work on infection prevention and control.
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Butembo and its surroundings, the new epicentre of the outbreak.