Ebola outbreak in Congo surpasses 7,000 cases, spreads to seventh province

The historic Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 7,000 confirmed cases and 3,300 deaths, spreading to a seventh province, Sud-Ubangi, in the west. The outbreak, driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain, is the deadliest in Congo's history. Containment efforts are severely hampered by shortages of funding and trained staff, alongside ongoing regional conflict, displacement, and a health workers' strike.

Spread to seventh province

• ▪The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to a seventh province, Sud-Ubangi, marking its first expansion into the western part of the country
• ▪Acting Governor Jean-Rene Galekwa Vundawe of Sud-Ubangi province confirmed that laboratory tests by Congo's national research institute identified the Ebola virus in a sample from the Bulu health district

Bundibugyo virus strain

• ▪The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of ebolavirus
• ▪The Bundibugyo variant of the Ebola virus currently has no approved vaccines or treatments, though clinical trials for a licensed vaccine are underway in Tshopo, Haut-Uele, and Bas-Uele provinces

Patient cross-border travel route

• ▪Acting Governor Jean-Rene Galekwa Vundawe stated that 38 people who had contact with the deceased 23-year-old Ebola patient in Sud-Ubangi have been identified and placed in quarantine
• ▪A 23-year-old man who died of Ebola in Gwaka, Sud-Ubangi, traveled from South Kivu through Rwanda and Uganda, and then through the Congolese provinces of Ituri, Tshopo, and Mongala before arriving in Sud-Ubangi

Over 7,000 confirmed cases

• ▪Government data released on September 11, 2026, showed that the number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reached 7,022
• ▪The current Ebola outbreak is the largest and deadliest in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo, surpassing the country's 2018-2020 epidemic

Death toll exceeds 3,000

• ▪The World Health Organization warned that the Congolese Ebola outbreak remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic, which killed more than 11,000 people
• ▪Government statistics released on September 11, 2026, indicated that the death toll from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 3,398

Resource shortages hampering response

• ▪The World Health Organization reported that shortages of trained staff, operational partners, and funding are causing bottlenecks in expanding the Ebola response as the virus spreads geographically
• ▪Efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak are severely challenged by ongoing insecurity, population displacement, a health workers' strike, and intense population movements