Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo reaches 837 cases one month in, with Africa CDC warning of potential historic severity

An Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo has reached 837 cases and 196 deaths, with the Africa CDC warning it could become the worst in history. Caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, the response is hampered by misinformation, attacks on health workers, and massive contact tracing gaps, with over 26,000 potential contacts untraced. The true scale of the crisis remains unknown one month after its declaration.

Ebola patient recoveries

• ▪The recovery of patients is helping to build community trust in the healthcare system in the outbreak's epicenter
• ▪Patients must test negative for the virus twice before they can be discharged from a treatment center
• ▪Daniel Kitambala, a 49-year-old farmer, recovered from Ebola after three weeks of treatment in Mongbwalu
• ▪As of June 15, 2026, 40 people had officially recovered from the Ebola outbreak

Bundibugyo outbreak death toll

• ▪As of June 16, 2026, the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo had reached 837 confirmed cases and 196 deaths
• ▪The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment
• ▪The Africa CDC has warned the outbreak could become deadlier than the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic that killed over 11,000 people
• ▪The outbreak is concentrated in Ituri province, but cases have also been found in North and South Kivu provinces and neighboring Uganda
• ▪The virus, which spreads via contact with infected bodily fluids, may have been circulating since February 2026

Coffin curse misinformation

• ▪A local myth known as the "coffin curse" blames the Ebola outbreak on the burning of a coffin that broke in early February
• ▪Misinformation has led some community members to believe that treatment centers are the problem, not the solution

Treatment center attacks

• ▪An Ebola treatment tent in Mongbwalu was set on fire on May 21, followed by a similar attack in Rwampara two days later
• ▪The outbreak has spread to 31 health zones, but there are only 14 treatment facilities across the three affected provinces
• ▪Security forces fired warning shots at a funeral in Mongbwalu to disperse a crowd trying to seize the body of a suspected Ebola victim
• ▪At least four incidents of patients absconding from treatment or isolation centers occurred in the first week of June 2026

Healthcare worker infections

• ▪Some health workers, like those at Clinique Universelle in Bunia, have been working without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE)
• ▪Five health workers have died from Ebola in the town of Mongbwalu, with several others infected and admitted for treatment

Contact tracing gaps

• ▪The Africa CDC estimates that more than 26,000 people who may have been exposed to Ebola have not yet been traced
• ▪The contact tracing coverage rate has dropped to 56% across the three affected provinces
• ▪Tracing efforts are hampered by community resistance, conflict that has displaced nearly a million people, and the movement of miners