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2h ago

Ebola in Eastern DRC Grows Exponentially as Deaths Pass 2,500

UN and aid agencies say funding gaps, attacks on responders and unpaid staff are letting the Bundibugyo virus outpace control efforts and raise the risk of wider spread.

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People dressed in protective gear prepare to lower into a grave the coffin containing the remains of 3-year-old Mave Mercienne, who died of Ebola, in Bunia, Ituri province, eastern Congo, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Dieudonne Dirole)
Health workers tend to an Ebola patient at the Rwampara Treatment Center in Ituri, Congo, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
UNICEF staff and airport workers receive an aircraft carrying medical supplies as authorities and aid agencies intensified efforts to contain a new Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain at the Bunia National Airport in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 19, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/File Photo

Overview

  • The United Nations reported on Friday that more than 2,500 people have died and that the epidemic is growing “exponentially,” with half of recent deaths occurring in the last 20 days.
  • Health agencies estimate the official counts understate the scale by as much as threefold and say contact tracing is far below needed levels, leaving many infections undetected and many cases dying outside treatment centres.
  • No licensed vaccine or specific treatment exists for the rare Bundibugyo strain, and WHO-backed trials are under way while 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine for a different Ebola strain have been allocated for study and limited use.
  • Response operations are repeatedly disrupted by violence and mistrust: reporters and agencies cite more than 260 attacks on health teams, about 160 infected health workers and payment and banking problems that have left response staff unpaid.
  • Agencies warn international emergency funds could be exhausted within weeks and are calling for urgent scaled-up support, with some donors pledging large sums while others, including Canada, face criticism for smaller contributions and travel rules that complicate deployments.