DR Congo Ebola cases pass 9,000 as efforts to curb transmission falter

Published On 13 Oct 202613 Oct 2026.

Key points

• As efforts to stifle transmission falter, confirmed Ebola cases have surpassed 9, 000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) outbreak, according to Health Ministry data.
• The ministry documented 9, 066 confirmed cases and 4, 381 deaths on Tuesday – a death toll of almost half the known cases.
• Last week, Kenya documented its first imported case in which a Kenyan national who lived in the DRC travelled through Uganda before reaching Nairobi, where he died.
• Uganda additionally noted 20 cases and two deaths earlier in the year, but the country was declared Ebola-free in August.
• The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, has become the largest and deadliest in the DRC's history.

For context, the ministry documented 9, 066 confirmed cases and 4, 381 deaths on Tuesday – a death toll of almost half the known cases.

For context, the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, has become the largest and deadliest in the DRC's history. Globally, the toll is only second to the 2014 to 2016 West African epidemic. It saw 28, 600 confirmed cases and more than 11, 000 deaths throughout Guinea, ⁠⁠Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In practice, the Bundibugyo strain at present has no approved vaccines or treatments and has triggered concern over cross-border transmission.

In practice, the current outbreak in the DRC was confirmed in mid-May, but some experts suspect it began as early as February. The virus, which is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids, has spread to seven provinces in the north and east.

Efforts to contain the virus face obstacles as health workers and other responders in the DRC face mistrust in local communities, with plenty of believing the disease is a ruse for office-holders to siphon off funds. The outbreak is additionally occurring against the backdrop of an ongoing conflict between the M23 rebel group and administration forces, making transport of healthcare resources to remote regions challenging.

Notably, a local politician in eastern DRC was beaten to death in September after he defended the government's Ebola response on the radio, according to his political party.

Meanwhile, a clinical trial to evaluate vaccine efficacy against the Bundibugyo strain is being prepared for the DRC in the coming weeks, WHO Health Emergencies Programme Executive Director Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu remarked on Tuesday.

Taken together, the developments around DR Congo Ebola cases pass 9, 000 as efforts to curb transmission falter point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.