Confirmed Ebola cases in DRC exceed 8,700 — WHO

GENEVA, October 9. /TASS/. More than 8,700 Ebola cases have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since May, and more than 4,200 patients have died, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

According to its situation report, "as of October 6, 2026, the country had recorded 8,728 confirmed cases and 4,205 confirmed deaths," putting the case fatality rate at around 48.2%. Since the previous edition of the WHO’s Ebola situation report was published on September 25, the DRC has registered 775 new confirmed cases, including 379 deaths.

Since September 25, the Ebola outbreak has spread to the Alimbongo health zone in North Kivu province, expanding the "geographical reach of the epidemic." It currently affects 64 health zones in seven provinces in the eastern part of the country. Ituri province has been particularly hard hit.

The WHO said that "transmission remains intense at the national level, although the burden is unevenly distributed." In some areas, "there are clear signs that the epidemic is slowing, while in others it continues to intensify." The persistently high case fatality rate, along with the large number of deaths occurring outside healthcare facilities, "continues to indicate delays in disease detection and access to appropriate medical care."

The current Ebola outbreak began on May 15 in the DRC and Uganda. Ugandan authorities announced on July 28 that the outbreak in the country had ended. The WHO confirmed this on August 25. On October 6, Kenyan authorities reported the country’s first Ebola case. The infected person, a Kenyan national who had visited the DRC, died in hospital.