Congo's Ebola outbreak passes 11,000 cases and 5,387 deaths as spread continues

Toll and spread

The health ministry said on Wednesday that 11,042 people have been infected with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and that 5,387 have died. The latest national figures cover cases up to 9 November, so the totals are a snapshot from that date. The national public health institute (INSP) put the case fatality rate at 48.8%. An earlier INSP bulletin, reported by Europa Press on 10 November, counted 10,990 infections and 5,354 deaths, including 70 new cases and 31 deaths in the previous 24 hours.

At the time of that bulletin, 966 patients were hospitalised or in isolation, nearly 3,000 had recovered and been discharged, and 79.2% of contacts were being followed. Ituri province remained the epicentre with 69.6% of infections, although that share has been falling as the virus reaches other parts of the country. The outbreak has spread to eight of the country's 26 provinces: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo, Upper Uele, Lower Uele, North Ubangi and South Ubangi.

Why containment is hard

The outbreak was declared in mid-May, and authorities have struggled to contain it because of armed conflict, a strained health system, poor roads and violence from residents fuelled by mistrust and misinformation. Fighting has flared again in Ituri and North Kivu, the two main hotspots, and health authorities are calling for a halt so that health workers can reach the sick. Health facilities and medical staff have been targeted by communities sceptical of the virus, and several attacks on health workers have been recorded. Delayed detection, conflict and overstretched services have allowed the virus to spread faster than in earlier outbreaks, and many deaths have occurred outside treatment centres. The Bundibugyo strain has no known vaccine or treatment and kills about half of those it infects. In early November the World Health Organization approved clinical trials of two new Ebola vaccines and expects results in early 2027.

Spread into neighbouring countries

Cases have now been reported across East, Central and West Africa, which gives the outbreak the widest geographic spread of any Ebola outbreak on the continent to date. Uganda announced on 28 July that it was free of the virus, after two deaths and 20 cases. Cases linked to the Congolese outbreak have been recorded in Kenya and Nigeria, and Nigeria was declared free after its only patient was evacuated to Switzerland. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it had detected 71 cases at surveillance points on migration routes and that a shortage of funds is damaging containment efforts. Frantz Celestin, the agency's regional director for East Africa, the Horn and Southern Africa, said:

“Ebola detection cannot be limited to hospitals or official border crossings.”

He added that maintaining these efforts is essential for detecting cases on time.

How it compares with West Africa

The outbreak is the second-largest and second-deadliest Ebola outbreak on record, behind the 2014-2016 epidemic in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. That epidemic infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000, and WHO data cited by Europa Press puts it at 28,616 cases and 11,325 deaths. Projections cited by Europa Press suggest the Congolese outbreak could eventually surpass that toll. Health officials are working against this backdrop as the outbreak continues to expand.

DR Congo 2026 (data to 9 Nov)11,042

West Africa 2014-201628,616

DR Congo 2026 (data to 9 Nov)

11042 cases

West Africa 2014-2016

28616 cases

Data from the article text