The Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported 580 deaths and 1,708 confirmed cases in the Ebola outbreak declared on May 15, with a case fatality rate of 34%, while a new health zone (Boga) in Ituri has been affected, according to the latest bulletin from the Ministry of Communication and Media, with data collected up to July 6.
Currently, 680 patients are in isolation or hospitalization, 280 have recovered, and the contact tracing rate stands at 75.2%. The outbreak was officially declared in Ituri, bordering Uganda and South Sudan, and has spread to North Kivu and South Kivu. It has also reached Uganda with 20 confirmed infections (15 imported from DRC, two deaths) and France, which detected its first case in a doctor returning from a DRC mission.
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The Bundibugyo strain has a 30‑50% fatality rate with no authorized vaccine or specific treatment, according to the World Health Organization, which considers the expansion risk high in sub‑Saharan Africa and low globally.
Ebola continues to spread in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo as death toll from the outbreak surpasses 500.@WHO reports more than 10,000 contacts are being monitored amid large scale displacement and armed clashes.https://t.co/oG6Bm6coMN
— United Nations (@UN) July 8, 2026
The WHO estimates the virus began circulating in Ituri about two months before the declaration and classified the epidemic as a public health emergency of international concern on May 17.
This is the third worst Ebola epidemic in history, behind the 2014‑2016 West Africa outbreak (about 11,000 deaths, 28,000 cases) and the 2018‑2020 eastern DRC outbreak (2,299 deaths, 3,481 cases). The virus transmits through direct contact with bodily fluids and causes severe hemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding.
The outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the DR Congo continues to expand.
UN health agency @WHO warns that treatment centres in Ituri Province are at capacity and not all needs are being met.https://t.co/bmdtdhvEq5 pic.twitter.com/XOJkjmNPwY
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) July 7, 2026
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