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2d ago

DR Congo Ebola Outbreak Remains Massive as Response Scales Up

Uneven declines in some zones and steep rises in others, together with large shortfalls in staff, beds and funds, mean containment will take months.

Congolese medical workers dressed in personal protective equipment (PPE) carry children tested and cleared off from Ebola from Saint Nicholas orphanage, at the Centre Medical Evangelique (CME) within the secured Ebola response zone, as aid agencies intensify efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain, in Hoho commune of Bunia town, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 9, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/File Photo
A drone view of workers at the Ceca-20 cemetery, as aid agencies intensify efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus, in Mungwalu, Djugu Territory of Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, July 14, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/File Photo
Members of the civil protection team's dignified and safe burial service disinfect themselves after handling the remains of a one-year-old child suspected of having died from Ebola, at the Butembo Unit Hospital morgue, in Butembo, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo, September 13, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere
Members of a civil protection team tasked with safely burying people suspected of having died from Ebola attend a daily briefing before deploying to the field to handle bodies, collect samples and disinfect the remains of people suspected of having died from Ebola, in Butembo, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo, September 13, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere

Overview

  • By mid‑September the government reported 7,258 confirmed cases and 3,510 deaths across seven provinces, making this the DRC's deadliest Ebola outbreak and the second‑most lethal on record.
  • Transmission is mixed: parts of Ituri show falling cases while North Kivu, especially the city of Butembo, is seeing rapid, even exponential, growth.
  • The outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, for which there is no proven vaccine or specific treatment, so frontline use of Merck’s Ervebo is being carried out under research protocols and formal vaccine trials of Ervebo and Bundibugyo‑targeted candidates are starting.
  • Response capacity is strained by gaps in surveillance, unpaid health‑worker strikes, insecurity and shortages that WHO estimates require roughly 5,000 additional health workers and about 1,600 more treatment beds.
  • Large population movements and recent cases in Sud‑Ubangi raise the risk of further spread inside the country and across borders, and the human toll and resource shortfalls mean officials expect many more months of intensive work to control the epidemic.