The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak has killed 2,011 people and infected 4,381, marking a grim new milestone in the country’s fastest-growing epidemic of the disease.
Health authorities released the figures on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, putting the case-fatality rate at 45.9 per cent. The outbreak has spread across five provinces in the country’s east and northeast.
Authorities declared the outbreak on May 15 after identifying the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in Ituri Province. The World Health Organization later designated the situation a public health emergency of international concern.
The epidemic is the DRC’s 17th recorded Ebola outbreak since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976. It has become the country’s deadliest Ebola outbreak since the 2018–2020 epidemic, which killed nearly 2,300 people.
The current outbreak has expanded from Ituri to North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé and Tshopo, with conflict and limited healthcare access making containment more difficult.
Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said the outbreak had not yet reached its peak but expressed hope that transmission could begin declining within three months.
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Another concern is the number of infections being missed by the formal health system. WHO officials have reported that many patients die at home without reaching treatment facilities, complicating surveillance and contact tracing.
The Bundibugyo strain has also presented a major challenge because no vaccine is currently licensed specifically against it.
Researchers are testing whether Ervebo, the approved vaccine for the Zaire strain of Ebola, can provide protection against Bundibugyo. Early evidence has suggested possible cross-protection, but its effectiveness must be established through clinical trials.
Two experimental vaccines targeting Bundibugyo are also undergoing early human trials, while another candidate is being developed.
Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, maintains an emergency stockpile of about 500,000 Ervebo doses and has made supplies available to support the research effort.
The outbreak’s rapid growth has intensified pressure on Congolese authorities and international health partners to improve case detection, expand treatment and reach communities that remain difficult to access.
Ebola spreads primarily through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of infected people or those who have died from the disease. Severe illness can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, bleeding and death.