The Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded more than 2,000 confirmed Ebola deaths in its latest outbreak, with the virus spreading faster than in previous outbreaks, according to data from the country’s public health institute seen by Reuters.
Confirmed deaths reached 2,011 on Tuesday, while the number of confirmed cases rose to 4,381 across five provinces.
Health officials have described the outbreak as the fastest-spreading on record. Delayed detection, conflict and strained health services have contributed to the rapid spread, while shortages of medical supplies and insecurity in affected areas have complicated efforts to trace contacts, isolate patients and contain transmission.
Passengers who disembarked from a boat intercepted by health authorities wait to be tested following the death of a passenger suspected of having Ebola, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, August 6, 2026. Authorities said the passenger had disembarked earlier in the city. REUTERS/Benoit Nyemba
Bundibugyo Strain Has No Approved Vaccines or Treatments
The outbreak is Congo’s 17th and is being caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments.
The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. The outbreak has also produced cases in neighboring Uganda.
A study published last month in the journal Science found that transmission may have begun in January or earlier in Ituri province. Researchers identified more than 500 suspected cases between mid-January and May 15.
Health workers wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) attend a training by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) for personnel preparing to reinforce regional Ebola response capacity in the Democratic Republic of Congo amid an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain, at an Ebola simulation treatment center set up by MSF in Kajiado County near Nairobi, Kenya, August 5, 2026. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
Deaths Doubled in Less Than a Month
The latest outbreak has already surpassed the death toll recorded during Congo’s 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak, when it took a little more than 12 months to reach 2,000 deaths.
In the current outbreak, deaths doubled from 1,000 to 2,000 in less than a month, highlighting the speed at which the virus is spreading.
Health workers wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) walk in a formation during a training by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) for personnel preparing to reinforce regional Ebola response capacity in the Democratic Republic of Congo amid an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain, at an Ebola simulation treatment center set up by MSF in Kajiado County near Nairobi, Kenya, August 5, 2026. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
Only the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa was larger, with 28,616 cases and 11,310 deaths recorded across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization.
That outbreak took nearly five months from its declaration to reach 1,000 deaths. Congo’s current outbreak reached 2,000 deaths in less than three months.
