Congo Ebola outbreak tops 8,000 confirmed cases

Middle East / 27 September 2026 Iran insists only negotiations will end the war with the US 27 September 2026 Ukraine War / 27 September 2026 Russian Foreign Minister rejects German calls to ease ‘dangerous’ escalation 27 September 2026 World / 27 September 2026 Two mass shootings in South Africa kill at least 27 27 September 2026 Climate Crisis / 27 September 2026 Flooding forces thousands to evacuate in Bangkok 27 September 2026 Diplomacy / 25 September 2026 US and China must act together as ‘responsible powers,’ Xi says 25 September 2026 World / 25 September 2026 Activists arrested outside UN protesting against Netanyahu 25 September 2026 THE number of confirmed cases of Ebola virus in Congo has surged past 8,000, as the country runs out of health workers to contain the deadly disease.

Congo announced an outbreak on May 15, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no known treatment or vaccine, and has struggled to contain it.

The latest data from Congo’s health ministry showed that 8,067 cases have been confirmed, with 3,901 deaths as of September 26 across 63 health zones in seven of the country’s 26 provinces, with a fatality rate of more than 48 per cent.

“The continuously high crude case fatality ratio, and especially the continuously high rate of deaths occurring in communities, highlights the seriousness of the disease and the persistent challenges in timely case detection and access to early and adequate patient care,” the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in its latest report.

Last week, the WHO said that the Congo is running out of health workers to contain the disease. 

Health workers have complained about delayed or missing payments, triggering several strikes despite the delicate nature of the outbreak. 

According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 50 health workers have died since the outbreak was announced.

Some areas have shown signs of improvement, with a fall in confirmed cases, including in Ituri province and Haut-Uele, but officials say the disease is spreading further in other areas, expanding its geographical reach.

According to data from the Africa CDC, the current outbreak has outpaced the two-year-long West Africa regional outbreak in terms of spread in the same time. 

By week 19, the regional outbreak between 2014 and 2016 recorded 3,781 cases, while the current outbreak recorded 7,840. 

The WHO said it is on track to surpass the regional outbreak, which killed 11,000 people.

Containment efforts have been hamstrung by insecurity, displacement, a health workers’ strike and intense population movements.