Health & Public Health
DR Congo Ebola outbreak reaches 3,075 cases and 1,354 deaths
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s latest Ebola outbreak has reached 3,075 confirmed cases and 1,354 deaths, officials said on Sunday. The number of identified infections increased by about 1,000 in 10 days.
The outbreak was declared on May 15 and is affecting five provinces in the country’s conflict-hit east. Authorities said improved detection and testing had helped identify more cases.
The World Health Organization said nearly 90 percent of reported cases were in Ituri province, which borders South Sudan and Uganda.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. No vaccine or treatment has been approved for that strain.
Officials said the outbreak could continue for several more months. Strikes by health workers seeking unpaid wages have disrupted response efforts in some hospitals.
Scientists are developing vaccines and treatments targeting the Bundibugyo strain.
Oxford University said on Friday that the first group of volunteers had received an experimental vaccine designed specifically for the virus. Several other vaccine candidates are being prepared for clinical trials, while two possible treatments are also under development.
Update
DR Congo's latest Ebola outbreak has reached 3,075 confirmed cases, officials said.
Officials said 1,354 deaths have been recorded in the outbreak.
Infections rose by around 1,000 in 10 days after the outbreak passed 2,000 cases on July 15.
Official figures showed confirmed cases across five provinces.
Authorities said improved detection and testing helped identify more infections.
The source says the outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.
Oxford University said the first volunteer group had received an experimental vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain.
Source note: AFP news report published on 26 July 2026 at 22:39:07 UTC.
Update
The DRC outbreak was declared on May 15 after several deaths in Ituri.
The outbreak has remained concentrated in Ituri, a northeastern province affected by armed groups, though cases have also been found in four other DRC provinces.
Doctors Without Borders said contact tracing requires enormous resources because of poverty and violence in Ituri.
Some people who died have been buried by families without protective measures, which the source says can accelerate transmission.
Uganda said it has gone three weeks without registering any new cases.
WHO officials said the outbreak had expanded faster over the past month than any previous Ebola outbreak and that responders were still catching up.
WHO said there is no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, but trials of two possible treatments, a vaccine and post-exposure prophylaxis are under way.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 13:50:24 UTC.
Update
WHO said 2,473 Ebola cases, including 999 deaths, had been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Uganda had registered 20 cases, including two deaths.
The DRC outbreak was declared on May 15 after several deaths in Ituri and remained concentrated in the northeastern province.
Cases had also been found in four other DRC provinces.
Uganda said it had gone three weeks without registering a new case.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak had expanded faster over the past month than any previous Ebola outbreak.
WHO incident manager Thierno Balde said the outbreak remained ahead of the response effort.
WHO said there was no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, but trials for two possible treatments, a vaccine and post-exposure prophylaxis were underway.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 11:05:27 UTC.
Update
The outbreak was declared in mid-May.
Nearly 2,500 Ebola cases have been confirmed.
The WHO table recorded 999 confirmed deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo and two in Uganda.
The WHO table was based on official data from the two countries.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 10:25:05 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The source says the outbreak could last several more months, but this is a forecast rather than a confirmed duration.
The source does not specify how many hospitals have been affected by health worker strikes.
The source does not state whether the new case total overlaps with cases in Uganda mentioned in the earlier matched story.
Source
AFP news report published on .