JULY 30, 2026

Congo's Bundibugyo Ebola Outbreak Surpasses 1,500 Deaths as Response Efforts Face Security and Tracing Gaps

The Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo, declared on May 15 and linked to the Bundibugyo virus, has recorded 1,521 deaths and 3,442 cases as of Tuesday, according to official government data released Thursday. The outbreak is concentrated in Ituri province, which accounts for nearly 90% of cases, and has spread to five provinces including the city of Kisangani. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain.

The death toll in Congo's current Ebola outbreak has surpassed 1,500, representing a roughly 50% increase in approximately one week, according to the Associated Press, which cited the latest government update. A total of 797 patients are currently in isolation or hospitalized, while 615 have recovered.

The outbreak's pace is notable in historical context: it has killed more people at a faster rate than any previous Ebola outbreak, including the 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak in which over 11,000 of 28,000 recorded cases resulted in death. That earlier outbreak took approximately eight months to reach 1,000 deaths.

Contact tracing has fallen well below the threshold health officials consider necessary to interrupt transmission. Nationwide, only about 78% of known contacts are being monitored, against a target of 95%. Displacement caused by armed conflict and illegal mining in the region has complicated efforts to trace thousands of individuals who may have had contact with infected people.