The ongoing Ebola virus epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has officially become the deadliest outbreak in the nation’s history, public health officials confirmed on Sunday, August 16, 2026.
Since the outbreak was officially declared on May 15, 2026, the cumulative death toll has climbed to 2,325, surpassing the 2,299 fatalities recorded during the previous worst epidemic between 2018 and 2020.
According to a situation report released on Sunday by the DRC’s Ministry of Health in Kinshasa, health authorities recorded 4,945 confirmed cases, including a sudden spike of 101 new cases within a single 24-hour reporting period. The virus maintains a mortality rate of approximately 47%.
The epidemic, driven by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, has swept across six provinces in eastern and northern DRC, including Ituri (the epicenter of the outbreak), North Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Tshopo, South Kivu and Bas-Uélé province.
Speaking at a WHO press briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, warned of the unprecedented pace of the virus:
”It’s already the second-biggest Ebola epidemic on record, and it’s moving faster than any previous Ebola outbreak. At its current pace, it’s on track to eclipse the West African Ebola outbreak of 2014 to 2016.”
Health officials note that response efforts face severe obstacles: Unlike the Zaire strain, the Bundibugyo strain lacks an approved standard vaccine, requiring clinical trial candidates to be rolled out under emergency protocols.
Ongoing violent conflict among armed groups in eastern provinces like Ituri and North Kivu continuously disrupts contact tracing and patient isolation efforts.
Emergency response teams from the World Health Organization and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continue to scale up diagnostic, treatment, and contact-tracing operations in localized health zones across the affected provinces.
