DR Congo’s Ebola Outbreak Is World’s Second-Largest Ever, Officials Call For Global Attention
DR Congo’s Ebola Outbreak Is World’s Second-Largest Ever, Officials Call For Global Attention Published By, Last Updated: August 01, 2026, 01:35 IST The country's government
DR Congo’s Ebola Outbreak Is World’s Second-Largest Ever, Officials Call For Global Attention Published By, Last Updated: August 01, 2026, 01:35 IST The country's government data released on Friday showed the outbreak has recorded 3,532 cases and 1,556 deaths across the country. Healthcare workers carry a patient on a stretcher suffering from Ebola in Bunia, Ituri, in the east of the DR of Congo. (AFP photo) The Democratic Republic of Congo’s fast-spreading Ebola outbreak has become the world’s second-largest on record, with officials warning that the crisis needs greater international focus as efforts to contain the virus struggle to keep pace. The country’s government data released on Friday showed the outbreak has recorded 3,532 cases and 1,556 deaths across the country. The surge has grown rapidly in less than three months, making it one of the most severe Ebola emergencies seen in recent years.
‘Fastest-spreading’ Ebola epidemic Carl Skau, acting head of the UN World Food Programme, described the outbreak as the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic ever seen and urged the world to pay more attention. “It’s the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic that we have ever seen," Carl Skau, acting head of the U.N. World Food Programme, told Reuters this week. “The world needs to pay much more attention." Health experts said the disease has killed around five times more people at this stage than previous Ebola outbreaks. The current outbreak is driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, which currently has no approved vaccine or treatment. The outbreak has surpassed the total cases recorded during Congo’s 2018-2020 Ebola epidemic, which was previously the country’s deadliest outbreak. Only the 2014-2016 Ebola crisis in West Africa, which affected Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, remains larger.
Conflict, funding shortages complicate response The outbreak is centred in eastern Congo’s Ituri province and has also spread to other areas, including North Kivu and South Kivu. Health workers are facing major challenges due to insecurity, with armed groups operating across parts of the region. Aid shortages have also placed pressure on medical teams working to trace cases, treat patients and prevent further spread. Officials say the true scale of the outbreak may still be difficult to assess. The World Health Organization has said vaccine development efforts are underway, while a clinical trial for a Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine has already begun with the first volunteer receiving a dose. Uganda recently declared itself free of local Ebola transmission after its last case recovered, but health authorities continue to warn of risks from the outbreak in neighbouring Congo. (With inputs from agencies) News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad.
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