DR Congo Ebola outbreak reaches 3,262 cases in 10 weeks, nearing country's worst epidemic on record

The Democratic Republic of Congo is battling its fastest-moving Ebola outbreak on record, with confirmed cases reaching 3,262 and deaths hitting 1,437 in just 10 weeks. Centered in Ituri province, the epidemic is driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain, which lacks approved vaccines or treatments. Containment efforts are severely hindered by rebel violence, healthcare worker strikes over unpaid wages, and contact tracing difficulties. Meanwhile, neighboring Uganda has declared its outbreak officially over.

DR Congo Ebola case numbers

• ▪The 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda lasted roughly two years, recording over 3,400 cases and more than 2,200 deaths.
• ▪The Democratic Republic of Congo's current Ebola outbreak is concentrated in the eastern Ituri province, which borders South Sudan and Uganda.
• ▪Confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo's ongoing Ebola outbreak have reached 3,262, with 1,437 deaths reported.

Outbreak transmission speed

• ▪The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo reached 1,000 deaths in just over two months, nearly three times faster than the 2014-2016 West African epidemic.
• ▪The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo reached 3,262 cases in 10 weeks, nearly matching the total of the country's two-year 2018-2020 outbreak.

Bundibugyo virus strain challenges

• ▪The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is caused by the Bundibugyo virus strain, which has no approved vaccines or treatments.
• ▪Oxford University announced that the first volunteer group has received an experimental vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus.

Outbreak response obstacles

• ▪Efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak are hindered by rebel violence in eastern Congo and strikes by healthcare workers protesting unpaid wages.
• ▪Some communities in the affected provinces have been left without response teams due to safety concerns following attacks by angry residents and rebels.
• ▪Ebola contact tracing is complicated by widespread displacement from armed conflict and illegal mining, alongside the fact that patient zero remains unidentified.

Community cooperation shifts

• ▪Local community members in Mongbwalu expressed a shared interest in fighting Ebola to return to normal life after losing family members to the disease.
• ▪Residents of Mongbwalu, a mining town where treatment centres were previously burned down, are showing increased willingness to cooperate with Ebola response teams.

Uganda Ebola outbreak conclusion

• ▪Uganda officially declared its Ebola outbreak over on July 28, 2026, after discharging its last patient in mid-June.
• ▪Ugandan authorities maintained that all of the country's Ebola cases during the outbreak were imported from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.