The World Health Organization has described the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the worst ever recorded in the country, with more than 3,600 confirmed cases and nearly 1,600 deaths as of July 30.
As of July 30, 2026, the epidemic had 3,605 confirmed cases and 1,587 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 44%. This surpasses the previous outbreak of 2018-2020, which recorded nearly 3,500 cases and approximately 2,300 deaths.
The current epidemic, declared on May 15, 2026, is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus. No vaccine or treatment has yet been approved for this specific strain. However, vaccines are under development in the United Kingdom and Singapore: the WHO announced on July 30 that the "most promising" candidate would be developed in Singapore, while a clinical trial of another vaccine has begun in the United Kingdom.
The past week has been the deadliest since the start of the crisis, with 567 cases and 296 deaths recorded in seven days. The WHO deemed these figures indicative of "an exceptional rate of transmission."
The epicenter is located in Ituri province, in the northeast of the country, on the border with South Sudan and Uganda. The virus has also spread to the North and South Kivu provinces, large portions of which are controlled by the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group.
The WHO emphasizes that "insecurity, population displacement, and cross-border movements complicate response operations and increase the risk of wider geographic spread." Twenty cases have been reported in Uganda, and one in France. Two patients diagnosed in the DRC have also been treated in Germany.
Ebola, which is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids, has killed 15,000 people on the African continent over the past fifty years.
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