The Ebola outbreak declared in mid-May in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is already approaching the threshold of 3,700 fatalities, according to the latest data released by Congolese authorities. These estimates place confirmed infections at nearly 7,700, in a context marked by concern over the spread of the disease and fear that it may overwhelm the available response capacity.
In its most recent epidemiological bulletin, the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) details that to date, 7,672 infections and 3,699 deaths have been verified, with 58 new cases and 23 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, concentrated mainly in the province of Ituri, considered the epicenter of the outbreak.
The agency also specifies that in the last day, 15 new medical discharges of patients diagnosed with Ebola have been reported, raising the total number of people who have managed to overcome the disease to 1,879. In parallel, 886 people remain hospitalized or in isolation.
According to the INSP, the case fatality rate currently stands at 48.2%, while contact tracing reaches 79.9%. The official balance indicates that cases have been detected in seven provinces —Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo, Haut-Uele, Bas-Uele, and Ubangi-Uele— affecting 63 of the 167 health zones in the country.
"The performance of epidemiological investigations remains satisfactory, with 97.7% of suspected cases investigated, although the contact tracing rate has decreased due to less thoroughness in several health zones," the agency has highlighted, emphasizing among the priorities "to strengthen preparedness and response in the river corridor areas and their surroundings."
The current outbreak in the DRC has already become the deadliest in the country's history, surpassing that recorded between 2018 and 2020. Projections suggest it could even exceed the devastating episode experienced between 2014 and 2016 in West Africa, which, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), left 28,616 cases and 11,325 deaths in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
RDC —which in December 2025 declared another outbreak in the Kasai region finished— is considered the country with the greatest global experience in managing the Ebola virus, having faced more than a dozen outbreaks since the pathogen was identified in 1976. At that time, a double outbreak occurred, one of whose foci was in the Congolese locality of Yambuku, on the banks of the Ebola River, which would eventually give its name to the disease.