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5h ago

Mambasa Ebola Cluster Grows — DRC Toll Tops 11,000

Containment is fragile, with health workers attacked, supplies short, no approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain.

A Congolese worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) carries plastic containers outside the Ebola Treatment Center at the Bunia General Referral Hospital following a resurgence of Ebola involving the Bundibugyo strain, in Bunia, Ituri province, the Democratic Republic of Congo, November 2, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/File Photo
Congolese civilians carry their belongings as they flee following an attack by Islamic State-linked militants, who burned homes, a health post and other buildings, in Cantine-Aloya, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 6.
A man walks with his adopted child, whose family was affected by the Ebola outbreak, in Mongbwalu in Democratic Republic of Congo on October 10, 2026.
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Overview

  • The outbreak that began in mid‑May has become the second‑deadliest Ebola epidemic on record, with confirmed cases now above 11,000.
  • Local doctors report roughly 20 new infections per week in the Mambasa area over the past three weeks, adding to 127 cases recorded there since the start of the outbreak.
  • WHO and UN officials say some former hotspots are improving but new transmission is emerging in remote, hard‑to‑reach areas.
  • Rising violence has produced about 80 attacks on health sites and workers, and health teams say shortages of beds, fuel, staff pay and supplies are disrupting contact tracing and safe burials.
  • No licensed vaccine or treatment exists for the rare Bundibugyo Ebola strain, and candidate vaccines remain in development and will take months to affect the response.