Health · Care beyond EbolaEbola Fear Drives Families From Congo Clinics as Death Toll Passes 4,000Aired October 14, 2026 at 12:54 PM UTCWritten October 14, 2026 at 12:58 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:07On September 15th, we reported more than 3,000 Ebola deaths.0:11Now the toll exceeds 4,000.0:12Some families are also avoiding maternity wards and children's health care, losing0:16access to services that protect them from dangers beyond Ebola.0:19Can families get essential care while the outbreak continues?0:22And what would it take to restore that access?0:24Masiki Health Center is seeing far fewer women come to deliver their babies.0:28The center is in Butembo, in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.0:33Head nurse Liliane Adranga says monthly deliveries have fallen sharply during the0:37outbreak.0:37Adranga says Masiki handled about 50 deliveries a month before the outbreak.0:42During it, the number has fallen as low as 15.0:44That's about 35 fewer deliveries at the reported low, roughly 70% below the earlier0:50level.0:50That low tells us how much attendance fell at one facility.0:53We don't know where the women who stayed away eventually delivered in Butembo.0:57Pediatrician Mupenzi Mouver also describes parents' fear of Ebola as a barrier to1:01getting children medical care.1:02Butembo sits in North Kivu.1:04The maternal death and vaccination figures come from another province, Ituri.1:08These places show different parts of the same healthcare disruption.1:12Masiki's delivery count can't tell us what happened to mothers across Ituri.1:16Maternal deaths in Ituri reportedly rose nearly 70% from May through July compared1:21with the same months a year earlier.1:23That increase concerns deaths during a period that has already ended.1:26It doesn't measure what's happening to mothers this October.1:29How much Ebola infection, delayed care, or disrupted services contributed to those1:34deaths isn't clear.1:35Fear is keeping some families away, but it can't explain every death on its own.1:39Missed prenatal visits also remove opportunities to identify and treat pregnancy1:43complications before delivery.1:45UNICEF says facilities across Ituri gave 23,000 fewer routine vaccine doses in May1:50and June than in April.1:51These vaccinations protect children from other illnesses.1:54The precise calculation behind that comparison is unclear, so it can't be treated as1:59a separate deficit for each month.2:00One child can receive several doses, so the number of children affected could be2:04different.2:05Falling routine vaccination leaves children exposed to illnesses beyond Ebola.2:09Catch-up needs depend on which doses were missed and who missed them.2:12Essential health service use had already fallen 42% in primary outbreak hotspots2:17between April and June.2:19A July assessment also recorded a 65% rise in etori maternal deaths over the2:23preceding 10 weeks.2:25Both point to pressure on ordinary care.2:27The earlier maternal death comparison used a different period, and its baseline is2:32unclear.2:33We can't read the two percentages as a worsening trend.2:36The 42% service decline covered overall use in hotspots, with immunization, prenatal2:42care, and facility births among the services under pressure.2:45Esther Latula stopped attending prenatal checkups amid the outbreak.2:49In August, she was described as four months pregnant and living in Bunia.2:52Her experience shows how fear can interrupt care well before a woman arrives at a2:56maternity ward.2:57In July, UNFPA estimated that 63,700 pregnant women lived in affected areas.3:03That gives a sense of how many pregnancies could face service disruption.3:07It doesn't tell us how many women avoided care, and Lutula's later pregnancy outcome3:10hasn't been made public.3:12The national count had reached 8,603 confirmed cases and 4,148 confirmed3:17deaths by October 4th.3:19Those are dated figures.3:21The current description puts the outbreak across seven provinces, with more than3:258,000 people infected and over 4,000 dead.3:28Officials say the outbreak is still far from contained.3:31In late August, it had reached 60 health zones across six provinces.3:35Health zones are local administrative areas within provinces.3:38The seven province figure describes its wider reach.3:41Now, the exact current case and death totals are still unresolved.3:45The outbreak involves Bundibugio virus, a type of Ebola.3:48It was confirmed in Congo and Uganda in May.3:51The formal outbreak declaration and international public health emergency3:54declaration are dated May 15th.3:56Transmission may have begun earlier.3:58The first infection date isn't known.4:00Promising vaccine and treatment candidates are being tested for Bundibugio.4:04There's currently no vaccine or specific treatment for this virus.4:07A vaccine approved against a different Ebola virus can't be assumed to protect4:11against the one driving this outbreak.4:13Early intensive supportive care improves survival.4:16That includes replacing lost fluids and treating symptoms.4:19The earlier description of an outbreak with no vaccine or medication needs that4:23clarification.4:24Patients can still benefit from timely medical care, even without a treatment4:28specific to this virus.4:30Ebola usually spreads through direct contact with blood and other bodily fluids.4:34That makes infection prevention essential in healthcare.4:37Families need protection when they seek treatment.4:39Fear, disrupted services, and declining confidence are barriers to keeping ordinary4:43care accessible.4:44Restoring access requires more than bringing Ebola infections down.4:47Mothers need prenatal visits and assisted deliveries, and children need pediatric4:52treatment and routine immunizations.4:53It's still unclear whether teams reached the surge area 40 kilometers away or4:57protective equipment reached the workers discussed in September.5:00Families are already losing access to everyday care alongside the outbreak itself.5:05Whether that access is recovering hasn't been demonstrated.5:08Nobody has announced a concrete timetable for restoring these services or a5:11documented catch-up vaccination target.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSSThe shortThe short ↗Related coverageBackgroundOct 21 09:53 UTCAbuja Ebola patient in isolation as Nigeria traces 44 contactsBackgroundOct 21 08:18 UTCKenya’s Ebola cases reach nine as first quarantined contacts near release