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Ebola Outbreak in Eastern Congo Tops 675 Cases as Spread Widens

Weak surveillance, supply shortages and insecurity are hampering containment, driving vaccine trials and tighter border screening.

Red Cross workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) gather after handling the coffin of a man who died of Ebola virus, as aid agencies intensify efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus, in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 10, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere
A drone view of motorcyclists as they join an awareness campaign organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) to combat Ebola in Bunia, Congo, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Congolese medical workers dressed in personal protective equipment (PPE) handle bags 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
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Overview

  • The outbreak has grown to roughly 676 confirmed cases and 136 deaths with transmission concentrated in Ituri and cases reported in North Kivu, South Kivu and neighbouring Uganda, including infections in a crowded displacement camp.
  • The virus behind the surge is the rare Bundibugyo species for which there is no licensed vaccine or strain‑specific treatment and routine tests for the common Zaire strain missed early infections, allowing weeks of undetected spread.
  • Contact tracing and surveillance remain far below targets, with health teams following only around 56–64 percent of known contacts and just a few hundred isolation beds available across the three provinces, while testing reagent shortages and a nationwide medical strike weaken response capacity.
  • Global agencies have declared the outbreak a public health emergency, Africa CDC has urged enhanced exit screening at points of entry without calling for blanket travel bans, and U.S. officials have lobbied European partners to consider travel limits ahead of the World Cup.
  • Scientists and global partners are fast‑tracking experimental vaccines and therapeutics, with two candidates likely to reach clinical trials in months, but funding gaps, logistics and community mistrust mean the outbreak could persist and place displaced families and health workers at continued risk.