Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo Surpasses 10,000 Cases, Spreads to Four Countries

The Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak, declared on May 15, has reached a grim milestone: more than 10,060 confirmed cases and 4,887 deaths — a fatality rate of nearly half of all confirmed patients. Caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which no approved vaccine or treatment exists, the outbreak is both the fastest-growing and the deadliest in the DRC's history. Cases have spread across 66 health zones in eight provinces. About 80% of new cases arise from outside the transmission chains that health authorities are monitoring — far above the 5% threshold the Africa CDC says is required for the outbreak to be considered under control.

Cross-border spread has reached Uganda (20 cases, 2 deaths), Kenya (9 confirmed cases, 2 fatal), and Nigeria, where a woman married to a Swiss diplomat was diagnosed after a visit to Uganda; she was later evacuated to Switzerland for treatment. Globally, the outbreak is the second-largest and second-deadliest on record, behind only the 2014–2016 West African epidemic, which infected 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000.

On the ground, at least half of those who died were never admitted to a treatment centre. Responders face shortages of vehicles and medical supplies in remote areas, strikes over unpaid or delayed wages, and violent attacks. Last week, a nurse was killed and a colleague seriously injured while responding to a suspected case in Bafwasende, Tshopo province. On Friday, the WHO announced that the first clinical trial for a vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain had been rolled out.