The deadliest Ebola epidemic in the history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has claimed the lives of 3,007 people, according to official figures, while cases exceed 6,100 and the Bundibugyo variant continues to spread at an unprecedented speed. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned that tracing the chains of contagion is not enough and that the international response to the health crisis must be expanded.

First modification: 09/03/2026 - 02:27

This September 2, the most recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which in just over three months has already become the deadliest in the country's history, surpassed the threshold of 3,000 victims and shows no signs of slowing down.

According to data from the local Ministry of Health, the epidemic, caused by the rare Bundibugyo variant and affecting six Congolese provinces, has recorded 6,186 confirmed cases, including 3,007 deaths, since it was declared on May 15 in the east of the African country.

And the actual numbers are feared to be up to three times higher, according to estimates by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has suggested that deficiencies in surveillance and contact tracing may lead to under-identification of cases.

Even so, it is already the second deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, only behind the one recorded between 2014 and 2016 in West Africa, which caused more than 11,000 deaths and 28,600 cases in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Although, in comparison, the current epidemic shows an unprecedented rate of infections.

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In recent weeks, authorities have observed a sudden increase in infections, with two new health zones affected last week in North Kivu, a region in which the mortality rate is much higher than in the rest of the affected areas.

In the province of Ituri, the epicenter of the current wave, residents say that there are not enough health personnel and that the usual routine is seriously affected.

Papy Baraka, a public transport driver in Bunia, explained to the AP agency that he has had to reduce the number of passengers he carries in his vehicle. "The disease puts us all at risk and daily life has slowed down enormously. We are afraid," he said.

According to experts, the disease has spread rapidly for various reasons, including the conflict in the eastern region of the country – where the outbreak is concentrated –, poor working conditions (which led to strikes) and attacks against health personnel, the constant displacement of miners and poor health infrastructure.

Read also 100 days of Ebola in DR Congo: X-ray of the deadliest outbreak in its history

Difficulties in identifying chains of contagion

On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that efforts to contain the virus "have remained below established response goals," with many areas at the mercy of "uncontrolled expansion."

In addition, they warned that the majority of cases "occur outside known transmission chains", taking into account that only between 15 and 20% of identified cases come from known contacts.

These conclusions were replicated this Wednesday by the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who stressed that "until all chains are found and broken, the epidemic will continue and will continue to represent a threat to the DRC, its neighboring countries and the region as a whole."

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Speaking to the press in Geneva, the Ethiopian doctor noted that many deaths occurred among people who were not on the list of known contacts, which "means that there are chains of transmission that we are not aware of."

He also added that many of the victims continue to be buried unsafely, which contributes to the spread of the virus.

In this context, he urged the international community to increase and accelerate financing for the Ebola response plan, for which the Congolese government is requesting $1.3 billion.

"We know that we are making this request at a time when funding for humanitarian assistance has been reduced. But, as we know from previous Ebola outbreaks, we can control this epidemic if we set our minds to it," he insisted.

In particular, Tedros said that the case of Uganda – where the outbreak that had spread from the DRC was declared over on August 26 – "gives hope", although he clarified that "the question is how quickly we can do the same in the DRC, how many lives will be lost before we do it."

Referring to the needs, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Tom Fletcher, also demanded that virus containment measures be intensified "urgently" because, otherwise, "more lives will be lost and the threat will increase."

The head of the United Nations humanitarian office called for "greater treatment capacity" and "safer and more dignified burial equipment", as well as "better access for humanitarian personnel and supplies."

"We cannot fight Ebola in isolation. People need functioning health services, clean water, sanitation, food, protection and livelihoods. Above all, they need trust," he stressed.

Likewise, he regretted what he considered the world's "indifference" to the crisis, which "must be on the international agenda" now and not wait for "Ebola to cross borders to act."

Return to school raises concern

In parallel, schools reopened this week in the areas most affected by the epidemic in DR Congo, after the Congolese Government considered that students risked suffering delays in learning with a distance modality.

According to a document seen by the Reuters agency, the Congolese Ministry of Education has classified more than 1,000 schools as high-risk or active transmission areas and, in regulations published on August 19, it was established that these institutions must temporarily replace face-to-face classes with "distance learning", which included worksheets distributed every two weeks and programs broadcast on radio and television.

However, an official from that ministry explained to Reuters that the Congolese Executive "revised its initial decision at the request of the provincial authorities, who wanted to ensure that students living even in red zones were not left behind in the school curriculum compared to others."

For this reason, schools in Ituri opened normally, although the official cited under anonymity by Reuters asserted that "at the first sign of a case, we will close the schools and implement distance education."

Schools in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu – controlled by the AFC/M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda – also reopened, with instructions such as hand washing and social distancing in classrooms.

La Reine Vahwere, a mother of three young children, told Reuters that she gave them bottles of disinfectant before sending them to school in the town of Beni, North Kivu province.

"I told them to avoid touching each other, not to physically touch their classmates. In addition, I am going to ask the authorities to apply social distancing within the classrooms," he said.

Read alsoThe WHO is confident that it is possible to control the Ebola outbreak in three months “with the necessary resources”

These types of prevention measures are key to confronting the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no vaccine or approved treatment, with some research in progress.

Last week, the Congolese Executive began distributing to front-line health workers in Kisangani, in the northeastern region of Tshopo, the Ervebo vaccine, which has helped combat previous Ebola outbreaks and which, according to the WHO, could offer some protection.

With Reuters, AP and EFE

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