The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is outpacing the response, with the latest data showing it is the deadliest in the country’s history.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Ebola, caused by the Bundibugyo Virus, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on May 17, 2026. This was after DRC’s Ministry of Public Health and Uganda’s Ministry of Health confirmed cases and declared the outbreak on May 15.
During the outbreak, Uganda reported 20 confirmed cases and two deaths. 15 of the cases were imported from the DRC while five were locally acquired among contacts and health workers linked to imported cases. Uganda identified and monitored at least 800 contacts, and on June 21, discharged the last patient diagnosed with Ebola.
The WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO-AFRO) and the Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC) confirmed the end of the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in Uganda in a statement published on the WHO website on August 27, 2026.
The declaration of the end of the Ebola outbreak in Uganda was reached after the country went 42 consecutive days without a new confirmed case. Completion of the 42-day period, which is equivalent to twice the upper limit of Ebola’s incubation period, provided an additional safeguard to ensure no chains of transmission associated with the last import case had been missed.
Africa CDC clarified that the 42-day countdown is the internationally established benchmark for determining that Ebola-linked transmission has ended.
“Uganda has demonstrated that with decisive action, Ebola outbreaks can be brought under control quickly,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, stated.
While Uganda celebrated the end of the outbreak, the cases in the DRC continued to spiral.
On August 17, the WHO stated that the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the DRC was the deadliest the country had ever faced. Most recent figures show that 3,500 deaths have been reported in DRC with the number of confirmed cases surpassing 7,200. Previously, the deadliest outbreak in in the country claimed 2,299 lives in 2018-2020.
In late July, the outbreak became DRC’s largest in terms of confirmed cases, with the data documenting 4,945 confirmed cases. The fatality rate was at 46%, according to the government data. These statistics, which quickly changed, showed the current outbreak was only second to West Africa’s 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak that saw 28,616 cases and 11,310 deaths.
The AP reported that in the week ending August 24, the country recorded at least 300 confirmed deaths, making it the deadliest seven days since the outbreak started.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, citing the government of DRC, indicated that 1,245 people had recovered and 80.9% of the identified contacts were under follow-up. Health organisations and experts expressed concern that the Bundibugyo outbreak was taking lives at a much faster rate.
On August 14, the United Nations ran a worrying headline on its website, ‘Ebola is winning’: Epidemic now killing one person every 30 minutes.’
This statistic, quoted by the UN humanitarian Affairs Chief Tom Fletcher, highlighted the gravity of the DRC situation.
Fletcher, nonetheless, was optimistic that the outbreak must be stopped: “We cannot let the virus outrun our response.”
According to the Africa CDC, six out of 26 provinces in the DRC: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Tshopo and Bas-Uele, have recorded Ebola cases.
“This is a wake-up call. We need speed, scale and solidarity before the virus gets even further ahead of us,” Fletcher added.
The Bundibugyo strain has no approved treatment, with the WHO confirming that vaccine trials are underway in the UK and Canada.
In early August, the government of DRC requested a release of the Ervebo vaccines from the global Ebola virus disease vaccine stockpile, managed by the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision (ICG).
Ervebo is a recommended vaccine for Zaire ebolavirus, but DRC sought to use it in the current Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak. The ICG released 70,000 doses, of which 20,000 would be used for the Phase 3 clinical trials to understand the impact of the vaccine on the Bundibugyo virus.
ICG indicated that the other 50,000 doses would be used for frontline health workers, as recommended by the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE).
The WHO figures reported on 20 August 2026 showed that 158 health workers have been infected and 45 have died from the disease, explaining why the Ervebo vaccine is prioritised for healthcare workers.
It is not confirmed whether the Ervebo vaccine may protect humans against the Bundibugyo virus, but early laboratory and animal data trials suggested it may offer some protection.
The clinical trial in the DRC will offer important new evidence to help policymakers determine the vaccine’s future use.
Mistrust hindering Ebola response in the DRC
Meanwhile, the ongoing conflict at the epicentre of the outbreak and distrust of medical authorities continue to hinder response efforts.
Dr Jean Kaseya, Director General of AfricaCDC, re-emphasised the implementation of public health measures as the first defence against the outbreak, but pointed out that mistrust was impeding the response.
Kaseya said mistrust, coupled with misinformation, was slowing down response efforts, as communities disregarded public health measures, some seeking care from traditional healers instead of going to public health facilities.
Response teams have regularly faced resistance and even attacks from the community, making mistrust as deadly as the biology of the virus.
Why the Death Rate Is So High
The current case fatality ratio of about 46%, which is higher than that of the previous outbreak in Uganda in 2007 that stood at 30%, means nearly half of the confirmed patients are dying.
Health experts also said it was alarming that the case fatality rates had climbed, unlike in other outbreaks where fatality rates usually fall when outbreaks grow and health systems are strengthened.
A public health expert at Doctors Without Borders working in the DRC attributed the increasing fatality rate to cases being detected late, mostly when patients have already died in the community, a scenario that reduces treatment success when patients reach care.
Responders’ reliance on the same tools developed over a decade ago to offer supportive care, isolation and contact tracing has proven insufficient in countering the outbreak, as up to 70% of new cases are coming from people not being monitored as contacts.
It means patients have likely exposed others to the virus before they were ever identified, giving new chains of infection an edge over response teams.
Dr Thierno Balde, the WHO Incident Manager for the Ebola response in the DRC, reiterated the importance of ensuring safe and dignified burials as an effective way of breaking chains of transmission.
“Intensive local training and equipping of burial teams with protective gear and chlorine have proven helpful. In localities like Lita and Nizi that were once overwhelmed by community deaths, have recorded falling case numbers because burials are now being carried out safely and on time,” Balde explained.
The infection and deaths of health workers are hurting frontline capacity, and healthcare workers going on strike due to unpaid salaries are also slowing contact tracing.
Uganda’s Success Story
Besides the small case count in Uganda, largely imported from the neighbouring DRC, the epidemiological clarity helped investigators conclusively track the source of the outbreak and respond appropriately.
Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi stated that the country’s achievement was not a lucky escape but the result of years of investment in building disease surveillance systems, laboratory networks, emergency operations centres, and rapid response systems.
The country has in the past had repeated encounters with Ebola and the Marburg virus.
Baryomunsi disclosed that “we deployed rapid molecular diagnostics, whole-genome sequencing, digital surveillance and real-time contact-tracing technology that sped up both detection and investigation.”
Uganda did not look at the outbreak as only a domestic issue; it rather signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the DRC on joint Ebola response. The pact enabled coordinated surveillance and emergency action on both sides of the borders between the two countries.
Under the agreement, Uganda helped establish two mobile laboratories and two 80-bed Ebola treatment units within the DRC. The establishments at Aru and Kasenyi are part of Uganda’s clear strategy to try and stop the virus closer to its source.
Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda and countries that share physical boundaries with the DRC also worked with Uganda to counter the spread of the outbreak.
Kenya set up 23 isolation and treatment centres, prioritising counties sharing physical borders with Uganda, along with four specialised laboratories for timely diagnostics as part of its preparedness.
Kenya’s Ministry of Health reported screening over 140,000 incoming travellers at land crossings, airports and ports of entry since heightening border surveillance in May.
Kenya, which has reported zero confirmed cases from 196 suspected cases tested, also joined hands with the U.S. to set up an isolation and treatment centre at Laikipia military barracks, a move that was challenged in the courts.
Uganda has urged citizens to remain alert, especially communities near the border with the DRC and report illegal crossings as part of sustained efforts to stop the reemergence of the outbreak.
Impact of Outbreak on Regional Business and Transport
The economic stakes of the continued outbreak in the DRC are considerable as thousands of trucks cross borders daily linking Uganda with Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and the DRC.
A continued outbreak is likely to disrupt regional commerce, raise transport costs and trigger further health-screening measures at border posts.
Interventions against the outbreak
Recognising the danger of the virus spilling further, international partners have mobilised heavily through a joint continental response led by Africa CDC and the WHO.
The response launched in June covers emergency coordination, surveillance, laboratory testing, infection control, clinical care, community engagement, logistics and support for essential health services.
The UN, through its humanitarian agency, OCHA, has allocated at least $54.5 million to accelerate the DRC response, help neighbouring countries to prepare and rebuild community trust in public health measures.
Regional diplomacy has complemented the money, with the WHO convening a cross-border consultation that brought representatives from the Central African Republic, DRC, South Sudan and Uganda in Bangui.
On August 26, WHO-AFRO announced that representatives of the countries that convened agreed to strengthen cooperation on disease surveillance and pandemic preparedness.
Judged against the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, Africa CDC’s boss Kaseya noted that Africa’s institutional response machinery had matured.
Earlier, Ghebreyesus, the WHO boss, said that he was a key advocate of the establishment of the Africa CDC, which did not exist during the last outbreak but is now leading the response along with partners.
Ghebreyesus and Kaseya dismissed claims of a rift between WHO and Africa CDC, instead urging focus on developing better systems that have made genome sequencing, which used to take weeks back in 2014, be done in days now.
“With a focus on preparedness, increased surveillance to find potential cases in health facilities and communities, and careful management of points of entry, countries can keep people and goods moving while ensuring people stay safe, or receive care if they are sick,” Ghebreyesus observed.
The situation in the DRC shows that institutional readiness, political instability, armed conflict and deep community distrust of outside health responders can decide the outcomes of response more than coordination efforts run out of Geneva and Addis Ababa.
Kaseya said that Uganda’s achievement was a timely lesson for the DRC and other countries in the region.
“Uganda has shown that Ebola can be stopped when leadership acts decisively, communities are trusted, and public health systems reach people quickly. This is a victory for Uganda and an important lesson for our continent; we must protect this achievement while accelerating response in the DRC,” Kaseya stated.
