{ "id": "ebola-bundibugyo-outbreak", "title": "Ebola outbreak in DR Congo and region", "category": "policy", "countries": [ { "iso3": "COD", "name": "DR Congo" }, { "iso3": "UGA", "name": "Uganda" }, { "iso3": "KEN", "name": "Kenya" } ], "status": "The Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak declared in DR Congo in May is still spreading. Reports citing official Congolese data say cases have passed 11,000, with 5,387 deaths. Kenya's cluster of nine cases has had no new infections since Oct 19.", "summary": [ "DR Congo declared an Ebola outbreak in Ituri province on 15 May 2026. It is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species, for which no vaccine or treatment is approved, and WHO declared it a public health emergency of international concern on 17 May. The virus has since reached 67 health zones in eight Congolese provinces. WHO describes it as the largest Ebola outbreak in the country's history, and Al Jazeera reports it is the second largest on record after the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic. Close to half of confirmed patients have died. Uganda had 20 cases before declaring its outbreak over in August; Kenya has nine confirmed cases and two deaths; Nigeria reported one imported case, who was evacuated to Switzerland. Responders face attacks on health workers and funding gaps, and Al Jazeera reported in late October that about 80% of new cases were arising outside tracked chains of transmission. A trial of Ervebo, a vaccine licensed for a different Ebola species, began in Bunia on 23 October." ], "why_it_matters": { "text": "With more than 10,000 confirmed cases, this is the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded, and no vaccine or treatment is approved for the Bundibugyo strain driving it.", "source_url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/27/ebola-cases-in-dr-congo-surpass-10000-in-fastest-growing-outbreak" }, "changed_recently": [ { "text": "Reuters, citing official data, reported that DR Congo's outbreak has passed 11,000 cases, with deaths nearing 5,400 (TASS). Al Jazeera put the death toll at 5,387 and said authorities are struggling with delayed detection and conflict, and The Hindu also reported the 11,000 mark. These figures are higher than WHO's count of 10,668 confirmed cases by Nov 3 and the Congolese health institute's 10,990 cases in data to Nov 8 (ECDC, CDC). The UAE lifted its Ebola-related visa suspension for Ugandans (The National).", "sources": [] } ], "key_numbers": [ { "label": "Confirmed Ebola deaths in DR Congo", "value": "5,198 (crude fatality rate 48.7%)", "who_says": "World Health Organization", "as_of": "2026-11-03", "source_url": "https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON625" }, { "label": "Ebola deaths across all affected African countries", "value": "5,376 (5,372 in DR Congo, 2 in Kenya, 2 in Uganda)", "who_says": "Africa CDC, speaking to AFP", "as_of": "2026-11-02", "source_url": "https://www.euronews.com/2026/11/02/ebola-kills-over-5300-in-fastest-growing-outbreak-on-record" }, { "label": "Confirmed Ebola cases in Kenya", "value": "9 cases, 2 deaths; none new since Oct 19", "who_says": "World Health Organization", "as_of": "2026-11-03", "source_url": "https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON625" } ], "expert_views": [ { "name": "Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus", "role": "Director-General, World Health Organization", "view": "Says vaccines are valuable but cannot take the place of proven measures that save lives now, and that travel restrictions penalise countries for responding properly.", "outlet": "Al Jazeera", "url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/4/who-approves-trials-for-two-new-ebola-vaccines", "date": "2026-11-04" }, { "name": "Jean Kaseya", "role": "Director-General, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention", "view": "Told more than 40 African health ministers that the continent is not yet winning against the outbreak, and that ministers agreed to keep borders open while tightening surveillance and preparedness everywhere.", "outlet": "Premium Times", "url": "https://www.premiumtimesng.com/?p=921422", "date": "2026-10-29" } ], "confidence": { "level": "high", "reason": "WHO, ECDC and Africa CDC all confirm the outbreak's scale, spread and lack of an approved vaccine. Exact totals differ by agency and reporting date (WHO, ECDC and Africa CDC counts do not match), Congo's figures are under continuous review, and aid groups say the true scale may be larger than reported." }, "sources": [ { "outlet": "Al Jazeera", "outlet_country": "Qatar", "date": "2026-11-11", "url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/11/ebola-cases-in-dr-congo-pass-11000-with-5387-deaths?traffic_source=rss" }, { "outlet": "The Hindu", "outlet_country": "India", "date": "2026-11-11", "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/congos-ebola-outbreak-tops-11000-cases-as-disease-keeps-spreading/article71688652.ece" }, { "outlet": "TASS", "outlet_country": "Russia", "date": "2026-11-11", "url": "https://tass.com/society/2215813" }, { "outlet": "The National", "outlet_country": "UAE", "date": "2026-11-11", "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2026/11/11/uae-lifts-ebola-related-visa-suspension-for-ugandans/" }, { "outlet": "World Health Organization", "outlet_country": "Switzerland (UN agency)", "date": "2026-11-06", "url": "https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON625" }, { "outlet": "European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control", "outlet_country": "Sweden (EU agency)", "date": "2026-11-03", "url": "https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/public-health-events/2026-eip-00026/2026-11-03" }, { "outlet": "Al Jazeera", "outlet_country": "Qatar", "date": "2026-11-03", "url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/3/ebola-outbreak-kills-more-than-5300-people-in-dr-congo" }, { "outlet": "Al Jazeera", "outlet_country": "Qatar", "date": "2026-11-04", "url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/4/who-approves-trials-for-two-new-ebola-vaccines" }, { "outlet": "Euronews", "outlet_country": "France", "date": "2026-11-02", "url": "https://www.euronews.com/2026/11/02/ebola-kills-over-5300-in-fastest-growing-outbreak-on-record" }, { "outlet": "Al Jazeera", "outlet_country": "Qatar", "date": "2026-10-27", "url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/27/ebola-cases-in-dr-congo-surpass-10000-in-fastest-growing-outbreak" }, { "outlet": "NPR", "outlet_country": "United States", "date": "2026-10-27", "url": "https://www.npr.org/2026/10/27/g-s1-150136/ebola-outbreak-milestone-democratic-republic-congo-vaccine" }, { "outlet": "Premium Times", "outlet_country": "Nigeria", "date": "2026-10-29", "url": "https://www.premiumtimesng.com/?p=921422" } ], "updated": "2026-11-11", "page": "https://verorbis.com/e/ebola-bundibugyo-outbreak/", "interactive": "https://verorbis.com/#e-ebola-bundibugyo-outbreak", "license": { "text": "Summaries and curation: CC BY 4.0. Cite \"Verorbis\" and link to https://verorbis.com/e/ebola-bundibugyo-outbreak/.", "third_party": "Numbers from third parties keep their own licenses and credit lines.", "credits": [ "UCDP Candidate Events Dataset (CC BY 4.0), Uppsala Conflict Data Program", "UNHCR Refugee Population Statistics Database (CC BY 4.0)", "World Bank World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)", "V-Dem via Our World in Data (CC BY-SA 4.0)", "Harvard Growth Lab, Atlas of Economic Complexity (CC0)", "GDELT Project", "U.S. Energy Information Administration and Federal Reserve, via FRED", "European Central Bank reference rates; US Treasury daily par yield curve; Federal Reserve Bank of New York (EFFR)" ] } }