The Democratic Republic of the Congo faces its fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record, recording 3,973 confirmed cases and 1,801 deaths as of early August 2026. Health workers in Ituri province staged strikes over unpaid wages, while UN officials warn that funding shortages and insecurity are severely hampering containment efforts across six provinces.
An unprecedented health emergency is unfolding in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where an outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo virus has triggered widespread protests among frontline medical staff and pushed humanitarian resources to the breaking point. According to data published by AP News, confirmed cases reached 3,973 alongside 1,801 deaths, making it the second-largest epidemic in the virus’s history behind the 2014–2016 West Africa crisis that recorded more than 28,000 cases, including over 11,000 deaths.
The Ebola outbreak that is spreading at unprecedented speed in Congo has not peaked yet and could be three times the current known size, according to data from authorities and Africa’s top public health agency. It is history’s fastest Ebola outbreak, and the World Health Organization says it is on track to surpass the deadliest on record, which was between 2014 and 2016, with over 11,000 deaths across West Africa. This latest outbreak has recorded 2,516 deaths out of the 5,290 confirmed cases as it rages in Congo’s vast eastern region, exacerbated by an intensely mobile population, including those displaced by armed conflicts, and distrust of medical authorities. Less than 10% of cases are currently coming from known contacts, far below the 90-95% rate when the outbreak can be said to be under control, according to Yap Boum, head of emergency preparedness and response at the Africa CDC.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is growing exponentially and risks spilling over into neighboring countries unless containment efforts are stepped up, the UN’s senior Ebola coordinator said Friday. The epidemic is spreading widely. It's now covering an area that is bigger than France, UN senior Ebola coordinator Julien Harneis told journalists, adding that half of the 2,500 deaths had been reported in the last 20 days alone. It is growing faster and wider than the Ebola response. He stressed that aid funding and the delivery of resources to remote areas needed to be urgently ramped up to slow and eventually stop the virus’s transmission.
Protests Over Unpaid Wages Disrupt Bunia Treatment Facilities
The operational strain on the ground spilled over into public demonstrations as dozens of Congolese healthcare workers staged protests outside the governor’s office in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, which accounts for nearly 90 percent of the Ebola cases in the country. Nurses, hygiene workers, and clinical staff reported receiving no wages or bonuses since the outbreak was declared in mid-May.
“With this way of managing things, Ebola will not end in this province. We ask the authorities to get involved at all levels so that a solution is found quickly.”
Photo: nypost.com
protester, via The Associated Press
Every day, Sophie Mwadawa Kabundo goes to her job as a nurse at an Ebola treatment centre in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, afraid she will contract the virus and pass it to her family and friends. More and more confirmed cases are being admitted here … Some of our colleagues have died, said Kabundo. We fear that, despite our vigilance, workplace accidents may occur and put us in ever greater danger … We go to sleep already worrying about the days ahead, as patients continue to pour in.
Martin Bolombi, her colleague at the Elikya treatment centre in Bunia, holds similar fears. Personally, this outbreak is causing me a lot of stress, he said. But I have no choice but to pluck up my courage and ensure that the situation is brought under control first.
Exponential Spread Across an Area Larger Than France
Senior United Nations officials cautioned that the geographic footprint of the disease now covers an area that is bigger than France. Speaking from the Ebola epicentre in Bunia, Ituri province, Mr. Harneis warned that the disease is growing exponentially, with half of all deaths occurring in just the last 20 days. Since the outbreak was declared on 15 May, 5,290 people have been infected and 2,516 have died, according to latest health authority data published on Friday. Of the total confirmed number of cases, 1,152 people have recovered and nearly 840 people remain in isolation or hospitalized, with a fatality rate of 47.6 percent and contact follow-up at 82.9 percent.
Photo: AP NewsNEWS: Ebola outbreak is spreading rapidly as WHO raises risk assessment.
We're only covered for the next weeks, and very soon funding will run out, said Julien Harneis, UN Senior Ebola Coordinator. Every delay in funding and implementation makes this epidemic more deadly, more difficult to stop and more expensive. So, we need that international support immediately.
Official data published on Thursday showed that confirmed cases had reached 3,973, including 1,801 deaths, according to government data as of Tuesday. Aid workers continue to warn that the disease is still spreading at an alarming rate, driven by an intensely mobile population and distrust of medical authorities.
