The Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported 438 deaths and 1,406 confirmed cases in the Ebola outbreak, with a case fatality rate of 31.2% and 609 patients currently in isolation, while the outbreak has spread to Uganda (20 cases, two deaths) and France (one case in a returning doctor), according to the latest bulletin from the DRC Ministry of Communication and Media and a separate confirmation from the French Health Ministry.
Contact tracing has reached 82.5%, with 192 recoveries recorded. Response capacities are being strengthened through vehicle and ambulance deployment, medicine and protective equipment supply, and intensified community mobilization.
However, the National Institute of Public Health has warned of persistent challenges in early care and healthcare access, and the detection of new cases without identified health zones could indicate geographical expansion requiring further investigation.
RELATED: DRC Ebola Toll Hits 1,307 Cases as Outbreak Expands
The outbreak was officially declared on May 15 in Ituri, bordering Uganda and South Sudan, but has since spread to North Kivu and South Kivu. The World Health Organization estimates the virus began circulating in Ituri about two months before the declaration and classified it as a public health emergency of international concern on May 17.
Ebola is more than a health emergency. It’s also a development crisis.
The outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could push nearly 1 million more people into poverty, with women hit hardest, and cost African economies billions, @UNDP warns.https://t.co/0bXQl8bjle pic.twitter.com/rrL3Q1f6CP
— United Nations (@UN) July 2, 2026
The Bundibugyo strain has a 30-50% fatality rate and no authorized vaccine or specific treatment. The WHO considers the expansion risk high in sub-Saharan Africa and low globally.
This is now the third worst Ebola epidemic in history, behind the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak (11,000 deaths, 28,000 cases) and the 2018-2020 eastern DRC outbreak (2,299 deaths, 3,481 cases). The virus causes severe hemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding.
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.