Ebola cases in DRC hit 5,515 as Pope Leo urges global action to save lives

What the report says

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has grown to 5,515 confirmed cases and 2,642 deaths, according to the latest government figures reported by Al Jazeera. The update, published on 24 August 2026, said 51 new cases were detected in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, where the epidemic has been spreading amid conflict, displacement and strained health services.

Al Jazeera reported that the case fatality rate has risen to nearly 48 percent, meaning almost half of infected people are dying. The outbreak, first declared in mid-May, is the country’s 17th Ebola epidemic and has been designated a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization, which also applied the alert to neighboring Uganda. The article said this is now the deadliest Ebola outbreak in DRC history and could exceed the toll of the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic.

The report also noted that response efforts have been complicated by attacks on medical workers and facilities, while about 160 health workers have been infected and roughly 45 have died, according to the WHO. At the same time, contact tracing has improved, and vaccine doses have begun arriving in the country. The WHO has pledged more Ervebo doses, while saying the response must be scaled up to reach affected areas.

Pope Leo called for international action and support for local communities to help contain the epidemic. Al Jazeera said the WHO still considers the public risk low outside the DRC, but very high within the country.