The current Ebola epidemic in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the second-largest confirmed outbreak on record, with 3,532 infections and 1,556 deaths recorded since its declaration on May 15.
The latest bulletin from the Ministry of Communication shows that this outbreak has now exceeded the 3,481 cases logged during the 2018–2020 epidemic in the same region, though it remains well below the 28,000 infections and 11,000 fatalities seen in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, the deadliest Ebola crisis to date.
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Data updated through July 29 place the case fatality rate at 44.1%, with 807 patients currently in isolation or hospitalization, while 626 individuals have successfully recovered and the contact tracing rate stands at 78.7%.
The ministry added that at entry and control points, travelers are being sensitized, screened, and urged to adopt protective behaviors, while communication efforts are highlighting recovery stories and the contributions of frontline teams alongside reinforced measures to prevent abuse and safeguard communities.
Five provinces have now been affected: Ituri, which remains the epicenter and borders South Sudan and Uganda; North Kivu, South Kivu, and Haut-Uele in the east; and Tshopo in the north-central region.
#DRCongo: “People here are exhausted.”
After years of conflict, displacement and hunger, communities in eastern DRC are now facing the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record.
WFP Acting @WFPChief explains why containing Ebola requires more than healthcare alone — it also… pic.twitter.com/iblBw97SmI
— World Food Programme (@WFP) July 30, 2026
The outbreak, first declared on May 15 in Ituri, subsequently spread into neighboring Uganda, though that country discharged its last hospitalized patient on July 16 and was declared Ebola-free on July 28 after recording 42 consecutive days without new infections, according to the same government data.
Uganda registered a total of 20 confirmed cases, including 15 considered imported from the DRC, among which two deaths occurred.
The epidemic involves the Bundibugyo strain, which carries a fatality rate between 30 and 50 percent and for which no licensed vaccine or specific treatment exists, the World Health Organization noted, adding that it considers the risk of regional spread across sub-Saharan Africa as “high” while rating the global threat as “low.”
This marks the seventeenth Ebola outbreak to hit the DRC and represents the fastest-growing wave of infections since its initial declaration, the WHO further reported.
Transmission occurs through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected people or animals, and the virus triggers severe hemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding.
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