Ebola Outbreak in Congo Expands to Eighth Province as Cases Reach Nigeria and Kenya
The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo, caused by the Bundibugyo virus and declared in mid-May, has spread to five countries including Nigeria and Kenya, with 9,552 confirmed infections and more than 4,600 deaths recorded in the DRC alone.
An outbreak of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus, declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in mid-May, has now spread to five countries. The DRC has recorded 9,552 confirmed infections and more than 4,600 deaths, with roughly six in ten fatalities occurring outside health facilities — a sign of how difficult it has been to halt community transmission. The outbreak has reached an eighth DRC province, Nord Ubangi, which borders the Central African Republic, where ongoing armed violence continues to displace communities and complicate the response. Reports from last week described 15 deaths per day in the rural commune of Mangina in Beni territory, North Kivu province, where a WHO emergency team arrived two weeks ago after negotiating access. Nigeria has confirmed its first case: a woman who arrived from Uganda, whose exact source of exposure and full travel history are still being pieced together. More than 40 close contacts have been identified and infection-prevention measures are being stepped up across Abuja's health facilities. Kenya has reported nine cases, including one death — a Kenyan national who had worked in the DRC and flew home to Nairobi via Entebbe, Uganda; authorities say all 135 identified contacts of that patient have been traced. Uganda previously recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths before officially declaring its Ebola threat over at the end of August. Inside the DRC, researchers are testing whether the Ervebo vaccine — originally designed for Zaire-strain Ebola — provides cross-protection against the Bundibugyo strain, though no preliminary data are yet available.
