Sephora Bgosi works on an Ebola burial team in Ituri province, the epicentre of Congo’s Ebola outbreak. Elsewhere in the response, a nurse treating Ebola patients was killed and another health worker severely injured while answering an Ebola alert in Bafwasende, Tshopo province, on Saturday, 24 October 2026.
The outbreak was declared in May 2026 and is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccine or specific treatment. By Tuesday, 27 October 2026, Congo’s Ministry of Health reported 10,060 confirmed cases and 4,887 deaths.
The disease has expanded from three health zones at the time of declaration to 66 health zones across eight provinces. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has called it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history, while Congo has recorded its deadliest Ebola outbreak.
Since the declaration, the outbreak has had at least three times the number of cases and deaths compared with the West Africa Ebola outbreak of 2014-2016, which had more than 28,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths. Early Ebola symptoms can resemble malaria, potentially delaying isolation and treatment.
Containment remains difficult. About 80% of recorded cases are still coming from outside monitored contacts, while the Africa CDC says at least 95% of cases need to come from known contacts before officials can say an outbreak has largely been brought under control. At least half of recorded deaths have involved people who had not been admitted to treatment centres.
Responders have also faced danger and a dispute over pay. Ebola workers at the Nia Nia health zone in Ituri province went on strike over bonuses owed since late August.
Cases have been recorded in Congo, Uganda, France, Kenya and Nigeria. Uganda and France have reported no active cases. Kenya confirmed nine infections, including two deaths, after a patient travelled from Congo through Uganda to Nairobi.
Nigeria confirmed an infection in a Swiss woman, the wife of a Swiss diplomat, who fell ill after visiting Uganda. She was confirmed infected in Nigeria before being evacuated to Switzerland.
Clinical trials of two antiviral treatment approaches have been under way since July. Two further trials are examining whether the Ervebo vaccine, approved and recommended only against the Ebola virus formerly known as Zaire ebolavirus, can protect against the Bundibugyo virus.
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