Ebola cases in Congo rise 25% within one week
09.07.2026,
The number of confirmed cases of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has risen by 25% within a week, the African Union's public health agency reported on Thursday.
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the number of cases is rising more rapidly in the current outbreak than in previous outbreaks.
The Congolese government has reported 1,759 laboratory-confirmed cases of the disease and 600 fatalities.
Capacity for treating Ebola patients is running short, with 95% of beds occupied. "We have to increase the number of hospital beds available by around 50% without delay," Africa CDC infections specialist Wessam Mankoula said.
He noted at the same time that control of the disease was possible, pointing to the example of neighbouring Uganda. Uganda has seen 20 cases, but only one patient is still being treated. Two people have died in the country.
Time remains a critical factor. According to Africa CDC, health authorities receive information in more than half the cases only 72 hours after the initial Ebola symptoms become apparent.
There are also delays in taking and transporting specimens. Africa CDC said that one positive sign was that a capacity of 2,000 Ebola tests per day had now been reached in Congo, although with regional differences.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with infected bodily fluids. The current outbreak involves the Bundibugyo variant, which has proved difficult to contain due to the absence of a vaccine or specific treatment.
However, two antiviral therapies have recently entered clinical testing and have been undergoing evaluation since last week.
The number of confirmed deaths in the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 600, figures published by the UN health agency showed Thursday. The WHO's figures show the worsening haemorrhagic fever outbreak has a case fatality rate of 34 percent.
Issued on: 09/07/2026
By: FRANCE 24
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has now claimed 600 lives, figures published by the World Health Organization showed Thursday – only three days after the figure topped 500.
Updated numbers issued by the UN health agency showed there have been 1,759 confirmed cases in DR Congo since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, including 600 confirmed deaths.
Two other people have died in neighbouring Uganda, where 17 patients have recovered out of 20 total confirmed cases.
"The outbreak continues to expand, and its true scale has not yet been fully established," Anne Ancia, the WHO's representative in the DRC, said Tuesday.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Thursday said the current outbreak was the "fastest-growing ever".
"This is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever, not only among the previous Bundibugyo outbreaks, but all the different viruses that are causing Ebola," Dr Wessam Mankoula, head of emergency preparedness and response, told reporters.
The WHO's figures for the DRC, which come from the health authorities in the vast country, show that the outbreak there has a case fatality rate of 34 percent.
A total of 285 patients in the DRC have recovered, while 304 suspected cases of the viral haemorrhagic fever are under investigation.
The Congolese government's latest report, published late Wednesday, said two new cases were suspected in Kisangani in the Tshopo province, where cases had not been previously recorded.
According to the report, one of the two suspected cases was linked to the Nia-Nia health zone in Ituri province, where the first cases were reported, while the other case “has no apparent geographical connection to known outbreaks”. Authorities were investigating.
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The outbreak in northeastern DRC has hit four provinces but is focused on Ituri province.
The outbreak is being driven by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.
The trial of two potential treatments for Bundibugyo began in the DRC on July 2.
The trial is evaluating the effectiveness of the monoclonal antibody MBP134 and the antiviral drug remdesivir, alone and in combination.
Ebola spreads through close contact and infected bodily fluids.
Outbreak in 'expansion phase'
The DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15 after several deaths in mineral-rich Ituri province, which is plagued by armed groups.
"It is still in the expansion phase, unfortunately. We would like to say it is stabilising, but frankly we cannot say it yet," Ancia told a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday.
"Transmission is still ongoing."
Speaking from Bunia, the capital of Ituri, she said the fight against the outbreak was facing major challenges.
"Population movements, persistent insecurity, and the fragility of the health system continue to complicate efforts to bring the outbreak under control," she said.
"Humanitarian needs remain substantial, particularly regarding civilian protection, access to food, and essential health services, while other diseases such as malaria and measles continue to spread."
She said there were now around 700 beds across 22 treatment centres, with efforts under way to add 300 more beds.
The centres are operating at around 90 percent capacity, "placing significant pressure on the response", Ancia said.
More than 10,000 contacts of infected people are being monitored, at a follow-up rate of 82 percent. The WHO believes a rate of 95 percent is needed to get on top of the outbreak.
Laboratory capacity has increased from 30 tests per day in the capital Kinshasa to more than 2,000 tests daily in decentralised labs in the affected provinces.
The WHO wants $115 million to strengthen its Ebola response, of which 32 precent has been received to date.
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