Congo-Kinshasa: Ebola Outbreak Still Expanding, WHO Sees Signs of Stabilization

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a UN News Service report dated 21 July 2026, says health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and international partners are trying to contain a fast-growing Ebola outbreak in the country’s east. Citing government figures as of 19 July, the report says 2,423 confirmed cases had been recorded, with 967 deaths and 469 recoveries.

The outbreak, declared on 15 May, has affected five eastern provinces: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo. WHO Incident Manager Dr. Thierno Baldé said Ituri remains the centre of transmission, representing more than 90% of cases and 80% of deaths. He told journalists from Bunia that the Bundibugyo strain is spreading into new areas amid insecurity, displacement and frequent population movement.

According to the UN report, WHO teams are expanding safe burials, referral systems, clinical care and case investigation while adapting tactics to local conditions. The agency is also planning stronger controls along the Congo River, described as a major transit route, and is using rapid response teams in places such as Kisangani, where five cases were reported as imported from Ituri and no secondary infections had yet been found.

The report says there is no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo variant, making early detection, isolation, contact tracing and community cooperation especially important. WHO noted limited signs of stabilization in Mongbwalu, where the outbreak was first identified, and in Goma, but officials cautioned that the overall response is still trying to catch up with the spread.