Congo Ebola Outbreak Becomes Largest on Record, WHO Says

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the largest ever recorded in the country, the World Health Organization said in an update published on 1 August, reporting 3,605 confirmed cases and 1,587 deaths as of 30 July across five eastern provinces.

The outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo ebolavirus and was declared by Congolese authorities on 15 May. WHO designated it a public health emergency of international concern the following day. It is the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in the DRC.

How large has the outbreak become?

WHO put the crude case fatality ratio at 44 per cent. Counting two deaths in Uganda, the total is 1,589. At least 651 patients in the DRC have recovered.

WHO describes it as the largest recorded in the DRC. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls it the second largest worldwide, behind the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic.

Transmission has spread from the Mongbwalu health zone in Ituri to 49 health zones across five provinces. Between its 17 July and 1 August updates, WHO logged an additional 1,481 confirmed cases and 759 deaths.

Congolese health officials have cited slightly lower totals, at 3,360 cases and 1,487 deaths, reflecting different cut-off dates and reporting streams.

Why is it spreading faster than previous outbreaks?

The CDC said the outbreak passed 1,000 confirmed cases within 40 days of the response being activated. The 2018 outbreak in the DRC took roughly 235 days to reach the same total.

Dr Justus Nsio, field incident manager for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Guardian that the response was working against the clock. “All the experts monitoring this outbreak agree that it was detected too late,” he said.

Professor Pierre Akilimali, who leads the response at the DRC’s national public health institute, cited insecurity, mining activity and high population density in Ituri. He said the Bunia and Rwampara health zones were recording 100 to 150 new confirmed infections each week.

What is the 2026 Congo Ebola outbreak?

The 2026 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the largest recorded in that country’s history and the fastest-growing outbreak of the virus documented anywhere. It is caused by Bundibugyo ebolavirus, one of several known Ebola species, and was declared by Congolese authorities on 15 May 2026. The World Health Organization designated it a public health emergency of international concern on 16 May. As of 30 July 2026, WHO reported 3,605 confirmed cases and 1,587 deaths in the DRC, a crude case fatality ratio of 44 per cent, with transmission active across 49 health zones in five eastern provinces: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo. The outbreak surpassed the country’s previous largest, which ran from 2018 to 2020 and produced 3,317 confirmed cases. No vaccine or treatment is approved for the Bundibugyo strain.

What is being done to contain it?

Congolese authorities have built more than 20 Ebola treatment centres, deployed community liaison officers to strengthen surveillance and established local testing laboratories, according to the response leadership.

No vaccine or therapeutic is approved for the Bundibugyo strain; existing Ebola countermeasures are licensed against Zaire ebolavirus. Clinical trials of a Bundibugyo vaccine began in early July. Professor Placide Mbala, who heads laboratory operations, said about 20 people had enrolled by 15 July, with trials running up to four months.

Uganda, where 20 cases and two deaths were recorded, declared its outbreak over in late July and has sent specialists to Congolese teams in Tchomia and Kasenyi.

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