Overview
- Health ministry data published Friday show the outbreak has reached about 3,532–3,553 confirmed cases with roughly 1,556 deaths, making it the second‑largest Ebola epidemic on record.
- The outbreak is driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain for which there are no licensed vaccines or specific therapies, and several fast‑track trials of vaccines, antivirals and post‑exposure drugs have begun in the DRC and overseas.
- Response operations have been disrupted by attacks on health facilities, community mistrust and temporary withdrawal of some international partners, leaving surveillance and supplies short in hard‑to‑reach areas.
- Contact tracing is far below targets with roughly 17,558 people identified for follow‑up and only about 13,800 under daily monitoring, a fraction of the estimated 134,000 contacts teams should be following in urban chains of transmission.
- Neighbouring Uganda has declared its outbreak over after discharging its last patient but the WHO will monitor for 42 days because continued transmission in eastern DRC raises reintroduction risk, and the epidemic is aggravating food insecurity and humanitarian strain in affected provinces.