DR Congo Ebola deaths pass 2,500
More than 5,300 confirmed cases and 2,500 deaths are reported across six provinces in DR Congo as the first vaccine doses arrive for a controlled response.
Transmission remains active. Case and death totals are provisional and can include delayed laboratory results or reporting backlogs.
Latest timelineDeaths pass 2,500 as the first vaccine doses arrive
Health authorities have reported 5,375 confirmed Bundibugyo Ebola cases and 2,557 deaths across six provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The latest totals remain provisional while surveillance teams reconcile delayed laboratory results and reports from affected health zones.
A first shipment of 16,250 Ervebo vaccine doses arrived in Kinshasa on 21 August. It is part of a 70,000-dose allocation coordinated by the World Health Organization and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention: 20,000 doses are intended for a controlled Phase 3 trial and 50,000 for frontline and health workers under the national response.
The shipment does not yet establish protection against this outbreak. Ervebo is licensed against Zaire ebolavirus, while the outbreak in eastern DR Congo is caused by Bundibugyo virus. WHO says the trial is designed to determine whether the vaccine is safe and effective against the virus now circulating.
Transmission has been reported in Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Tshopo and Bas-Uélé. These provinces include communities affected by conflict, displacement, poor roads and weak access to health care, making early detection, safe isolation and contact follow-up more difficult.
The World Health Organization continues to assess the national public-health risk as very high and the risk to neighbouring countries as high. The figures can rise as laboratories confirm suspected cases or as older records are added, so daily changes do not always represent infections or deaths from the latest 24 hours.
The outbreak is straining care in communities with limited safe access
The outbreak is moving through communities already facing displacement, hunger, insecurity and limited access to essential services. Those conditions make every part of the response harder.
Care and infection prevention
Health facilities need trained staff, protective equipment, isolation capacity and reliable patient pathways. Delayed care increases the risk to families, health workers and other patients.
Detection and safe access
Poor roads, insecurity and weak surveillance can leave people beyond the reach of testing, contact tracing and treatment teams, allowing transmission to continue unnoticed.
Community trust
Clear information, respectful care, safe and dignified burials and rapid laboratory communication are essential where misinformation or fear keeps people away from clinics.
Essential services
UNICEF has reported a 42% fall in use of essential health services in outbreak hotspots, raising concern that disrupted routine care could deepen preventable illness alongside Ebola.
How the outbreak and response have developed
First vaccine shipment reaches DR Congo
Authorities confirm the arrival of 16,250 Ervebo doses in Kinshasa as reported totals reach 5,375 confirmed cases and 2,557 deaths across six provinces.
WHO and Africa CDC allocate 70,000 doses
The allocation reserves 20,000 doses for a controlled Phase 3 trial and 50,000 for frontline and health workers. Effectiveness against Bundibugyo virus remains under study.
Provisional toll continues to climb
National surveillance figures reach 5,208 confirmed cases and 2,476 deaths as response teams work across the expanding outbreak area.
Outbreak reaches six provinces
Health authorities confirm transmission in Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Tshopo and Bas-Uélé.
WHO warns the outbreak remains ahead of the response
WHO says more than 2,000 people have died among over 4,300 confirmed cases and warns that the trajectory could worsen without faster containment.
WHO details spread across five provinces
WHO reports 2,124 confirmed DRC cases and 828 deaths, with conflict, displacement and limited basic services complicating the response.
International public-health emergency declared
WHO determines that the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.
Trial evidence and faster detection will shape the next phase
The next official updates will show whether transmission slows, whether response teams can reach more affected communities and what the vaccine trial establishes.
Community transmission
The share of infections and deaths detected outside treatment centres will indicate whether surveillance and early care are improving.
Vaccine trial
Safety, immune-response and effectiveness findings will determine whether Ervebo has a useful role against Bundibugyo virus. Protection should not be assumed before evidence is available.
Response capacity
Staff payment, transport, laboratory turnaround and treatment-centre reception capacity will affect how quickly suspected cases enter safe care.
Regional preparedness
Cross-border mobility means neighbouring countries need continued surveillance and readiness even where no current community transmission is reported.
Information used in this report
DRC Ministry of Public Health and Institut National de Santé Publique; World Health Organization; Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention; UNICEF; Radio Okapi; Actualite.cd; and El PaÃs.
Publication and updates
- Published — Original report published.
- Updated — Material report update.
- Updated — Material report update.