The Democratic Republic of the Congo is grappling with its worst Ebola outbreak on record, with health authorities confirming 4,209 cases and 1,916 deaths from the Bundibugyo strain as of August 8. The outbreak, which began in May in Ituri province, has now spread to 53 health zones across five provinces, surpassing the devastating 2018 to 2020 Kivu outbreak in total caseload.
The World Health Organization has scheduled an Emergency Committee meeting for August 18 to reassess whether the outbreak still constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The PHEIC was first declared on May 18, making this only the third Ebola emergency declaration in history. Uganda declared its own outbreak over on July 28 after the last patient was discharged, though WHO warns the country remains vulnerable to imported cases.
Ituri province remains the epicenter with 3,636 cases and 1,551 deaths across 28 of its 36 health zones. North Kivu has recorded 470 cases including 315 deaths, while Haut Uele reports 91 cases and Tshopo nine. South Kivu has seen three cases. The case fatality rate stands at approximately 45 percent, lower than the Zaire strain which can kill up to 90 percent of those infected but still devastating.
The Bundibugyo virus presents a unique challenge because no approved vaccine or monoclonal antibody therapy exists for this particular strain. Existing Ebola vaccines and treatments target only the Zaire ebolavirus. Singapore based Hilleman Laboratories announced it will develop a vaccine described by WHO as the most promising candidate, while Oxford University has begun clinical trials with the first volunteer receiving a dose in late July.
The outbreak has crossed international borders, with imported cases recorded in Germany, France, and Uganda. The US CDC reported a humanitarian worker tested positive on July 10 and was medically evacuated to Germany. The US State Department has issued a Level 4 Do Not Travel advisory for the DRC and restricted entry from affected countries.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus traveled to the DRC on May 28 to support the response effort, and the agency has added its first diagnostic test for the Bundibugyo virus to its Emergency Use Listing. Contact tracing remains a critical tool, with 6,367 contacts being followed in the DRC before Uganda’s outbreak was declared over.
The scale of the crisis has prompted alarm from global health officials. The WHO’s technical advisory group on vaccine prioritization met on July 31 to evaluate candidate vaccines. With surveillance gaps still significant across the affected provinces, experts warn the true case count may be higher than officially reported.
Sources: ECDC Ebola Outbreak Update, WHO Ebola Outbreak DRC 2026, EbolaMap Live Tracker
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