Health workers in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) simulate using a manikin the evacuation protocols of deceased victims of Ebola during a training by medical charity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at Ongata Rongai, Kajiado County in Kenya on July 10, 2026.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has recorded more than 7,000 cases of Ebola in what has become the country’s worst outbreak of the deadly disease, according to figures released by Congolese authorities.
The latest outbreak, believed to have spread undetected for several weeks, was officially declared in mid-May. It is the DRC’s 17th Ebola epidemic and has so far claimed nearly 3,400 lives.
The outbreak began in the northeastern province of Ituri before spreading to remote areas in the east and north, where decades of armed conflict, weak state presence and inadequate healthcare infrastructure have complicated efforts to contain the virus.
Earlier this week, authorities confirmed that the disease had reached a seventh province, South-Ubangi, which borders the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo.
According to the latest government figures, 7,022 cases have been recorded since the outbreak began, including 3,398 deaths, while 1,671 people have recovered.
Ituri has recorded the highest number of cases, with Ebola detected in schools following the resumption of classes after the summer holidays, raising concerns among parents and health workers.
“We are very worried because we don’t know which child comes from which family or what the health status of the members of that family is,” Angele Magani, a mother in Ituri’s provincial capital, Bunia, told AFP.
She said parents remained fearful despite assurances from school authorities about measures being taken to prevent transmission.
Bunia school official Roger Mungimbo said schools had introduced mandatory hand-washing with soap and limited classrooms to a maximum of 30 pupils.
“We regularly make the children aware that they must not touch each other, must not greet each other and must wash their hands regularly,” he said.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with infected bodily fluids and can cause severe internal and external bleeding, organ failure and death. The virus has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past five decades.
The current outbreak is being caused by the Bundibugyo virus strain, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment. Researchers are, however, testing several potential vaccines and treatments.
