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The Ebola epidemic in Congo has caused 11,042 cases and 5,387 deaths

Riana Gegiu

11 November 2026, 13:04

International

Foto: Shutterstock.com

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The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached 11,042 confirmed cases and 5,387 deaths, according to the latest official data cited by Euronews. Nearly half of those diagnosed have died. Declared in May, the epidemic is the 17th recorded in the country and has already surpassed all previous outbreaks in terms of cases and deaths.

The virus has spread at an unprecedented rate. The 1,000-case threshold was exceeded just 40 days after the health response was activated, compared with approximately 235 days during the epidemic that began in 2018. Transmission continues in eight of the country’s 26 provinces, with the worst-affected being Ituri and North Kivu, in the east of the country.

The medical response is being hampered by damaged roads, long distances, armed conflicts, strikes and unpaid salaries. Some epidemiological checkpoints have suspended operations, while public distrust, misinformation and attacks on health workers are affecting the detection and isolation of patients.

The virus is the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is still no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment. With support from the WHO, two experimental vaccines are being tested, developed by Oxford together with the Serum Institute of India and by Moderna. The WHO stresses that the rapid identification of cases, care, isolation and contact monitoring remain essential. The outbreak is the second most severe after the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic.

Context: Ebola previously spread to new provinces and crossed the DRC’s borders

Before the most recent data, health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo confirmed that the outbreak had spread to North Ubangi Province, which borders the Central African Republic, making it the eighth affected region. During the period reported at the time, dozens of new cases and deaths were recorded, and the outbreak remained in the east, with the epicenter province in the spotlight.

The epidemic also had a cross-border component: cases were reported in Uganda and Kenya, and in Kenya the total reached eight after infection was confirmed in a 49-year-old man, a caregiver exposed to a previously diagnosed patient.

At the same time, WHO reported developments considered positive in certain areas of Ituri, with transmission declining there, but warned that the situation remained difficult in other regions, including North Kivu, where the weekly number of cases had risen sharply, and the epidemic could not be treated as a single outbreak.