DRC Ebola infections cross 8,000 as outbreak death toll nears 4,000
Confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo have risen above 8,000 for the first time, with 3,901 dead in the largest and deadliest outbreak in the country's history.
The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen above 8,000 for the first time in the country’s ongoing outbreak, government data showed on Monday.
The latest situation report from the national public health institute put confirmed infections at 8,067 and deaths at 3,901. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus.
The outbreak, detected in May, has already become the largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic in the DRC’s history after surpassing the 2018–2020 epidemic. It is second in scale only to the 2014–2016 West African outbreak, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed over 11,000 across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
On Friday, the World Health Organization said the outbreak had spread to two more health zones — Bulu in Sud-Ubangi and Dungu in Haut-Uélé — bringing the total affected to 63 health zones across seven provinces.
The response is being hampered by conflict and population displacement, limited contact tracing, and the lack of a licensed vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, with clinical trials still under way.
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