DR Congo's Ebola Outbreak Becomes Deadliest on Record (2026-08-18)
DR Congo's Ebola outbreak is now the deadliest in its history, with 4,945 cases and 2,325 deaths reported across six provinces.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the deadliest in the country's history, according to the latest figures from health authorities. The current epidemic has now recorded 4,945 confirmed cases, including 2,325 deaths, with a case fatality rate of 47 percent. So far, 1,040 people have recovered.
The previous deadliest outbreak in the DRC occurred between 2018 and 2020 in the eastern part of the country, which saw 3,481 cases and 2,299 deaths. The current outbreak has already surpassed those numbers, making it the second-largest Ebola epidemic ever recorded globally.
The World Health Organization has warned that the outbreak is spreading faster than any previous Ebola epidemic in the country. At its current pace, it could eventually eclipse the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed over 11,000, primarily in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
Cases have been detected in 55 health zones across six provinces: Ituri, North Kivu, Haut-Uele, Tshopo, South Kivu, and Bas-Uele. Ituri remains the epicenter, accounting for 4,194 confirmed cases—nearly 85 percent of the national total—and 1,838 deaths.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus and marks the DRC's 17th recorded Ebola epidemic since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976.