Six months after an outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus was declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo on May 15, 2026, the epidemic has surpassed 11,000 cases with a death rate of nearly 49 per cent.
Cases and Deaths Rise as Virus Spreads Across Provinces
As of November 10, national health authorities recorded 11,114 confirmed cases and 5,433 deaths, with a case fatality rate of 48.9 percent, according to figures reported by Xinhua. While infections have slowed in initial epicentres such as Bunia in Ituri Province, the virus has expanded across eight provinces and 67 health zones. In neighbouring North Kivu, cases surged by 31 percent as transmission intensified in conflict-hit eastern regions.
Children account for more than a quarter of confirmed cases and one third of deaths, with seven in 10 children under five who contract Ebola failing to survive, WHO Regional Office for Africa data shows. At a briefing in Geneva, Chikwe Ihekweazu, head of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme, pointed to rural shifts.
Six months into the #Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), significant progress has been made in bringing lifesaving services closer to affected communities, despite immense challenges. Since the start of the outbreak, more… pic.twitter.com/zheORIbdDm
“We do see encouraging signs,” Ihekweazu said, citing falling cases in former hotspots like Bunia. “But what we have seen now is the emergence of cases in more rural and more difficult-to-reach areas.”
The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of the virus, for which there are no approved treatments or vaccines, though clinical trials of experimental treatments and a vaccine trial with expected results in early 2027 are underway. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is experiencing the largest and deadliest Ebola disease outbreak in its history, marking it as the second-largest Ebola epidemic ever recorded worldwide.
Conflict and insecurity are making it harder for health teams to reach communities affected by the #Ebola outbreak in the DRC. Six months into the outbreak, most early epicentres have been brought under control. Yet the outbreak is expanding geographically, particularly in areas…
Unicef data indicates that children accounted for 35 percent of deaths recorded through November 4. Meanwhile, neighbouring countries including Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda have confirmed cases, making this the most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak on record. The International Organization for Migration warned that a $59.8 million funding shortfall threatens efforts to expand Ebola surveillance beyond official checkpoints, and assessments in Tshopo Province identified 19 strategic river locations where additional surveillance points may be required.
Infections Often Occur Outside Official Health Surveillance Systems
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), 80 percent of new infections are detected outside official health surveillance systems. Furthermore, approximately two-thirds of deaths continue to occur in communities rather than treatment facilities.
Dr. Wessam Mankoula, a medical epidemiologist with the Africa CDC, said that testing capacity has expanded to more than 4,300 samples per day across 30 laboratories, and patient beds have reached 2,000. However, he emphasized that increased capacity alone will not stop the transmission.
“Surveillance is a big challenge — identifying all possible contacts,” Dr. Toussaint Selemani, head of medical activities at the Ebola Treatment Center of the Kitatumba Reference Hospital, told CBC. “This is very critical to the success of this response.”
In Isiro, Haut-Uélé province, DRC, community-based surveillance and rapid mobilisation of health teams serve as a first line of defence against #Ebola. With support from @WHO and partners, these efforts are strengthening early detection and timely response to suspected cases. pic.twitter.com/bFKncOt9QK
Rising violence has severely disrupted medical operations. The WHO has documented 80 attacks on health sites and workers. A recent assault in North Kivu by a rebel armed group killed 66 civilians, including three health workers, forcing more than 1,000 contacts to be lost to follow-up and leaving three confirmed patients unaccounted for, according to The Straits Times.
“Violence restricts our access to people in need of help,” Ihekweazu said. “It disrupts surveillance, it disrupts treatment and forces people to move, disrupting their access to care.”
UN Senior Ebola Response Coordinator Julien Harneis said that more people have been killed by Allied Democratic Forces fighters than by Ebola disease in recent days, while attacks on tens of villages across southern Ituri and North Kivu provinces go unnoticed.
The Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamic State-affiliated rebel group, has continued attacking civilians and health facilities. At the same time, contact follow-up remains significantly below target, with less than 80 percent of nearly 34,000 identified contacts reached on November 9, falling short of the government’s 95 percent target.
Response Disconnect Criticized
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has criticized the management of the response, stating that funding and resources are failing to reach frontline workers effectively. Anna Halford, an emergency coordinator for MSF, reported that most admissions in treatment centers are surprise cases lacking known epidemiological links.
“Our teams are often left speechless by the dysfunctions they witness in many areas,” Dr Javid Abdelmoneim, international president for Doctors Without Borders, told Health Policy Watch. “Six months into the response, this situation is simply unacceptable.”
Previous reports citing figures from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that out of $962 million passed on to organisations dealing with Ebola, $700 million was unaccounted for.
MSF pointed out that many community awareness workers and healthcare personnel have not been paid, and protests or payment delays have further hampered operations. British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson estimated that response teams are likely detecting only about half of the actual cases occurring, with his team estimating 2,000 to 3,000 patients currently in Congo.
Despite challenges, our colleagues responding to #Ebola are determined to bring the outbreak under control. Get to know them and their experiences: https://t.co/WJW9bvt1Ws
Health officials and humanitarian partners continue to urge immediate cessation of hostilities to allow safe access for medical teams and ensure vulnerable populations can seek treatment without fear.
Earlier coverage: Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo Remains Out of Control, Charity Warns
