The worst Ebola outbreak in Congo's history exceeds 11,000 confirmed cases and 5,300 deaths

Jerkis Mahamba, an Ebola survivor who now cares for patients, speaks through the glass of an isolation room with the uncle of a hospitalized child, in Butembo, Congo, on October 28, 2026. (Archive photo: REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere) The worst Ebola outbreak in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo surpassed 11,000 confirmed cases, according to official Congolese figures published this Wednesday, amidst an armed conflict that hinders the response. The National Institute of Public Health counts 11,042 infected and 5,387 dead. About 2,990 people recovered. Ebola is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and causes severe hemorrhagic fever. It is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the country's history. It was officially declared on May 15, but experts believe it emerged weeks or even months earlier. It began in the province of Ituri, in the northeast, and spread to seven other provinces, with most cases in Ituri and North Kivu. According to the latest report from the World Health Organization (WHO), with data as of November 3, Ituri accounts for 7,485 cases and 3,532 deaths, and North Kivu, 2,593 cases and 1,422 deaths; the latter has the highest provincial lethality, at 54.8%. There were 1,463 new confirmed cases in the last 21 days. Cases were also reported in Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria; Kenya notified nine confirmed cases and two deaths, and Nigeria, one imported case. Uganda and France, which also had cases, controlled their outbreaks since August, according to the WHO. Health workers in protective gear carry the coffin of Dr. Marie-France Shogogo, who died of Ebola, during her funeral in Bunia, Congo, on October 31, 2026. (Archive photo: REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere) The Argentine doctor Carolina Nanclares, medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Kisangani, capital of the Congolese province of Tshop, warned in September, in an interview with Infobae, that the epidemic is "one step ahead" of the response capacity. "Every thirty minutes, there is a person dying of Ebola," she said. According to Nanclares, "a large part of the new patients we see in the centers were not on any contact list," meaning "they are outside the system," and rumors about the treatment centers, such as that they "come to annihilate the population or steal their organs," delay the search for care. The previous most severe outbreak in Congo, between 2018 and 2020, killed nearly 2,300 out of 3,500 cases. Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa in the last 50 years. Health personnel walk through an Ebola treatment center in Beni, North Kivu province, Congo, on Monday, November 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Sebastien Kitsa Musayi) The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, which is less common than the Zaire species, and there are no approved vaccines or treatments for it. Last month, the WHO announced that Ervebo, a vaccine approved against the Zaire species, would be tested in a full clinical trial in Congo to see if it offers cross-protection. According to the WHO, the trial, called Tumaini, began on October 23 in Bunia, the capital of Ituri, with vaccination of high-risk contact rings. Two specific candidates against Bundibugyo, from Oxford University and Moderna, will be added after national approvals. "This trial will help us understand if any of the vaccines designed for the Bundibugyo virus works," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. A burned motorcycle after an attack by militants linked to the Islamic State in Cantine-Aloya, North Kivu, Congo, on November 6, 2026. (REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere) Insecurity in eastern Congo is another obstacle. Ituri is one of the most volatile provinces, with frequent clashes between armed groups and violence against health workers. On Sunday, young people set fire to a health center treating Ebola patients in Lolwa, in Ituri, health authorities said. That day, clashes between local militias temporarily suspended the health response in the Fataki area, according to the UN. Rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), linked to the Islamic State, carried out deadly attacks in several areas of Ituri, Upper Uele, and North Kivu in recent days, according to local and security sources.