The DR Congo Ebola outbreak is recording 50 to 80 new confirmed cases daily, with about 10,000 cases and nearly 5,000 deaths reported
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is recording between 50 and 80 new confirmed Ebola cases daily, with the outbreak reportedly reaching about 10,000 cases and nearly 5,000 deaths, according to Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director of the World Health Organisation’s Health Emergencies Programme.
Ihekweazu disclosed the figures during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, warning that the outbreak remained severe and continued to affect large parts of eastern DR Congo.
“Unfortunately, we’re now at 10,000 cases and close to 5,000 deaths,” he said.
“We’re reporting 50 to 80 new confirmed cases every single day. So the situation is still very dire. This is a large part of the country, the east of the country.”
He added that eight provinces had been affected, describing the scale of the outbreak as comparable to eight states in Nigeria. The country is now in the sixth month of the outbreak, he said.
The outbreak was declared on May 15, 2026, after the virus was believed to have circulated for several weeks.
It has affected eastern and north-eastern areas, including Ituri and North Kivu, where insecurity and weaknesses in health infrastructure have complicated efforts to contain the spread.
The outbreak is the country’s 17th and is approaching the death toll recorded during its 2018 to 2020 epidemic, when about 2,300 people died among approximately 3,500 recorded cases.
Figures released by Congolese health authorities in August put the current outbreak’s fatality rate at 45.9 per cent. At the time, Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba warned that the outbreak had not yet reached its peak.
The WHO has also raised concerns about infected people who die before receiving medical attention.
The organisation’s Regional Director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, previously said many patients were dying at home without being reached by health workers.
“We are only seeing 30 percent (of infected people), while 70 percent of people are dying at home. This is why this Ebola is different,” Janabi said.
The outbreak has also raised concerns about vaccine availability because the virus responsible belongs to the Bundibugyo strain, for which the supplied report said there was no specifically approved vaccine at the time of its publication.
WHO vaccine experts had recommended a large-scale human trial to assess whether Ervebo, a vaccine approved for protection against the more common Zaire strain, could also provide protection against the Bundibugyo strain.
The Gavi global vaccine alliance said doses from its stockpile would be made available for the trials, with some doses already in DR Congo.
The continuing spread of the disease, high reported death toll and difficulties reaching patients underline the challenges facing health authorities as they work to contain the outbreak.
