Overview
- Officials confirmed on Friday that a laboratory-tested case in Sud‑Ubangi makes it the seventh Democratic Republic of Congo province to record Bundibugyo Ebola and exposed dozens of contacts along a long travel route.
- Congolese authorities report roughly 7,000 confirmed infections and about 3,300 deaths in the fast‑growing epidemic, with case counts rising in North Kivu even as the original Ituri hotspot shows some decline.
- The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo ebolavirus for which there is no licensed vaccine or proven treatment, so health teams have started using the Zaire vaccine Ervebo under trial or emergency protocols while Bundibugyo candidates are fast‑tracked.
- Response capacity is strained by insecurity, mass displacement and health worker shortfalls, with some treatment centres over capacity and contact tracing hampered by long travel routes, river transport and worker strikes.
- Public health agencies warn the spread along major transport corridors raises cross‑border risk for neighbouring countries and say far more beds, testing and thousands of additional health workers are needed to stop wider transmission.