KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO / MENA Newswire / — Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in eastern Ituri province, reporting 80 deaths and 246 suspected cases as laboratory testing identified the Bundibugyo strain of the virus. The Ministry of Health said eight confirmed cases were recorded in the Rwampara, Mongwalu and Bunia health zones, with suspected infections concentrated in areas where health officials are expanding surveillance and emergency response operations.
The outbreak was confirmed after samples tested in Kinshasa identified Ebola Bundibugyo, a species first recorded in western Uganda in 2007. The National Institute of Biomedical Research found Ebola virus in 13 of 20 samples collected from suspected cases linked to severe illness and deaths in Mongbwalu and Rwampara. Patients reported fever, body pain, weakness, vomiting and, in some cases, bleeding, with several deteriorating rapidly before death.
The suspected index case was a nurse who died at the Evangelical Medical Centre in Bunia after showing symptoms that included fever, bleeding, vomiting and severe weakness. The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has activated its public health emergency operations center, strengthened epidemiological and laboratory surveillance, and ordered rapid deployment of response teams to the affected health zones.
Emergency measures expand
The World Health Organization said national and provincial authorities are strengthening outbreak control measures, including active case finding, contact tracing, infection prevention in health facilities, laboratory testing, safe burials and community sensitization. The agency is also airlifting five metric tonnes of supplies from Kinshasa to Bunia, including infection prevention materials, sample transport equipment, case management supplies, tents and other items for frontline health workers and treatment facilities.
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak presents regional coordination challenges because affected areas are near Uganda and South Sudan. The agency cited the urban setting of Bunia and Rwampara, population movement, mining-related mobility in Mongwalu, insecurity, gaps in contact listing and infection prevention challenges as response concerns. Health authorities from Congo, Uganda and South Sudan have been involved in coordination on surveillance, preparedness and response.
Regional surveillance intensifies
Uganda’s Ministry of Health has reported one Ebola Bundibugyo death involving a patient from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who was treated at a health facility in Uganda. Ugandan authorities said the case was imported and that no local case had been confirmed. They have activated outbreak control measures, including disease surveillance, screening and readiness activities, while Congolese officials continue investigations in the affected Ituri health zones.
The latest outbreak is the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s 17th recorded Ebola outbreak since the disease was first identified in 1976 in Yambuku, in Equateur province. The previous Ebola outbreak in the country ended in December 2025. Ebola disease spreads through direct contact with blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, as well as contaminated surfaces and materials, making early detection, isolation, supportive care and public health controls central to stopping transmission.