The Bundibugyo strain is fueling the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s history, as health workers face distrust from communities.
Published on October 13, 2026
Confirmed Ebola cases have surpassed 9,000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), health ministry data shows, as efforts to stifle transmission fail.
The ministry reported 9,066 confirmed cases and 4,381 deaths on Tuesday, almost half of the known cases.
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The epidemic, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, has become the largest and deadliest in the history of the DRC. Globally, the toll is only second to the West African outbreak of 2014 to 2016, which recorded 28,600 confirmed cases and more than 11,000 deaths in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Bundibugyo strain currently has no approved vaccine or treatment and has raised concerns about cross-border transmission.
Last week, Kenya reported its first imported case: a Kenyan national living in the DRC crossed through Uganda before reaching Nairobi, where he died.
Uganda also reported 20 cases and two deaths earlier in the year, but the country was declared Ebola-free in August.
The current outbreak in the DRC was announced in mid-May, but some experts suspect it began as early as February. The virus, which is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids, has spread to seven provinces in the north and east.
Efforts to contain the virus face obstacles as health workers and others in the DRC face distrust from local communities, many of whom believe the disease is a ruse by authorities to siphon off money. The outbreak also comes amid ongoing conflict between the M23 rebel group and government forces, making it difficult to transport medical resources to remote areas.
A local politician in eastern DRC was beaten to death in September after defending the government’s response to Ebola on the radio, according to his political party.
A clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain is being prepared in the DRC in the coming weeks, the executive director of the WHO health emergencies program, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, said on Tuesday.
Gn Health
