The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak has surged past 5,200 confirmed cases and 2,478 deaths, making it the fastest-growing Ebola epidemic on record and the second-largest ever documented, according to World Health Organization data released this week.
The outbreak, declared on May 15 and centered in the northeastern Ituri Province, is driven by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus strain, a rare variant for which no approved vaccine or specific treatment currently exists. The case fatality rate stands at approximately 47 percent, far exceeding initial estimates of 24 percent recorded when the outbreak was first identified.
No Approved Vaccine as Virus Spreads to Six Provinces
The epidemic has now spread beyond its epicenter in Ituri to five additional provinces: North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Tshopo, and Bas-Uélé. Cases have also been confirmed across the border in Uganda, where two deaths have been recorded in Kampala. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak is intensifying at an exceptional pace and called for a significant scaling-up of the health response.
The Bundibugyo strain poses unique challenges because existing Ebola treatments and the Ervebo vaccine were developed for the Zaire ebolavirus species. WHO has judged the evidence of cross-protection insufficient and recommended against using Ervebo in the current outbreak. The WHO declared the epidemic a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 16.
Oxford Vaccine Trial Begins as Cases Surge
In a race against the spreading virus, Oxford University launched the world’s first clinical trial of a Bundibugyo-specific vaccine on July 13. The Phase I trial, known as BD-Ebov, is testing the ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine on 50 healthy adults aged 18 to 55 in the UK. The vaccine uses the same ChAdOx1 viral vector platform as the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Serum Institute of India has stockpiled approximately 620,000 doses of the investigational vaccine for potential future use, with 4,000 doses supplied for the current trial. If Phase I results are favorable, CEPI has pledged to support late-stage trials aimed at securing emergency use authorization. However, experts warn that deployment in the DRC could still be many months away.
Conflict and Infrastructure Hamper Response
The outbreak is unfolding in one of Africa’s most conflict-affected regions. Armed groups including the Allied Democratic Forces, CODECO, and the Rwanda-backed M23 movement compete for control of lucrative mining areas in Ituri and the Kivu provinces. Fighting and restrictions imposed by these groups severely limit humanitarian access and obstruct contact tracing efforts.
Traditional burial practices in the region, which involve handling the deceased over several days, have further complicated containment. Health workers involved in safe burial protocols have faced attacks fueled by misinformation about the disease. The WHO has estimated that the true scale of the outbreak likely significantly exceeds confirmed figures, given the difficulty of surveillance in conflict zones.
The 2026 epidemic is the 17th recorded Ebola outbreak in the DRC, beginning just five months after the end of a previous outbreak. The epicenter in Ituri Province borders both South Sudan and Uganda, raising concerns about further cross-border spread through the region’s mobile populations and mining-related travel.
Sources: WHO; Reuters; Oxford University; Médecins Sans Frontières; BNO News
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